14th Amendment
Watercolor on paper mounted on panel
16"x12, 2017
Signed into law in 1868 it is startling how long it has taken for this amendment to take hold. It was originally designed to grant rights to slaves recently freed following the civil war. Pushed through by Republicans, who in the age of (post)Lincoln, were more progressive and forward thinking than they present themselves today. Still. Almost a century and a half later and these truths are still not self evident. Sometimes we have to look back at what we forgot to correct in order to move forward.
(With Gratitude to Ben Franklin)
Watercolor on paper mounted on panel
20"x16", 2017
All the more poignant today than ever, this paraphrased quote attributed to Ben Franklin, has morphed over history into a warning of the dangers of protection at the cost of Liberty. We have to be "anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy" (to quote Obama quoting Washington).