Hilarious War, 2013

Awards: Fine Art – Gold, Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design, 50th annual Student Exhibition:
Philip J. Steele Gallery, Lakewood CO

Having spent several years working as an in-the-field EMT, I’ve seen plenty of death up close. Almost anyone working within a 911 system has a morbid sense of humor, and it’s easy to see why.

In order to survive the awful things you see and hear day to day, you have to laugh it off. This removal of innocence is necessary for those regularly dealing with high-stress situations, but I believe it’s becoming a new standard for the general public.

Although movies and television are saturated with hyper-realistic portrayals of death, the use of an actual fatality or serious injury in art is very taboo. Real death is always portrayed by mainstream media as a somber event, while simultaneously it’s known full-well that it sells. I wanted to push the boundary of what could be visually digested by the viewer, without causing them to immediately look away. The primary goal of this piece is to invoke a conversation.

Details: 1′ 19″ – Appropriated video montage – multiple sources including Youtube.com, Liveleak.com and Archive.org – Rights belong to the United States Armed Forces and Public Domain. Soundtrack – multiple laugh sequences from freesound.org