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GEORGE W. BUSH STAMPED "IDIOT KING" FIRST CLASS FOREVER |
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By Antoine du Rocher NEW YORK, 30 APRIL 2008 — While the planned U.S. Postal Service First-Class postage increase is the hot story of the moment in numismatics, and the "Forever Stamp" is the hot-selling item at the post office, the centerpiece of an art exhibition in New York promises to be a much stickier, and much more enduring, commemorative issue: the "George W. Bush Idiot King" stamp that paints the Commander in Chief as a first-class idiot. The show, curated by Judy Pfaff of the CUE Art Foundation, gives center stage to the Houston-based artist, David Krueger (b. 1953), whose work mixes political commentary, technology and artistic experimentation to produce work that broadcasts a message of disappointment and political disillusionment through the humble postage stamp. Krueger has issued numerous stamps over the last several years to comment on issues like gun violence, environmental damage, and the bias of Fox News, but the most buzz-worthy of his stamps must be the image of Bush as Idiot King.
Krueger created the Idiot King stamp in 2001, long before the folly of the Bush years would become evident and at the time, it may have seemed a cheap shot, but in retrospect, some would call it prescient. And, deliberately or not, timing the show to coincide with the price hike for the First-Class Mail stamp adds to the ironic resonance of Krueger's work. CUE Art Foundation, a non-profit forum for contemporary art and cultural exchange between artists and the public based in Manhattan's Chelsea district, describes itself as "a foundation in the heart of New York where artists are given their CUE to take center stage." Born in Odessa, Texas and educated at the University of Houston, TX (MFA), David Krueger had this to say about his work on view through 31 May at the CUE Foundation: As a boy I collected stamps. For several years, we lived two blocks from my maternal grandmother who gave me my first stamps and stamp book before I started elementary school. After we moved away, frequently I would receive lavender scented envelopes in the mail filled with beautiful stamps. In my teens, my paternal grandmother became the Postmaster of Encinal, TX. I loved going to the old wooden clapboard post office on the town square; the feeling it had was incredible. The building was the hub of local communication with people coming to pick up or drop off their mail while sharing the latest gossip. Occasionally, I was allowed to help put the mail in the boxes and I would examine the stamps on the envelopes, hoping to see something new or from a far off exotic place. Krueger's installation at CUE Art Foundation, his first solo exhibition in New York, uses cardboard and encaustic paint, infused with lavender oil, to reconstruct the post office from his childhood which, according to the artist, represents "the disconnect between the past 'ideal' and the loss of trust, privacy and human rights today." Keeping in line with the artist's outcries for educated egalitarianism, the viewer will find, as Krueger mentions above, that the stamps are for sale in vending machines within the "post office" at CUE (single stamp: $1.00 in coins). Giclle printed sheet of perforated stamps, limited
edition signed by the artist (25 stamps) $300. David Krueger Antoine du Rocher is the managing editor of Culturekiosque. BOOK TIPS All titles are chosen by the editors as being of interest to Culturekiosque readers
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