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John Faupel has sent us an inspiring message and given us the permission to make use of some of his paintings, all of which were motivated by a sense of outrage at the invasion of Iraq. His comments appear below each picture.
Prints of these and other paintings may be purchased from Faupel's Web site , which is non-profit-making and was established to support Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace, and Amnesty International.
In Faupel’s paintings you will find a thread of conscience exploring the relations between the nations and how the monopoly of truth causes wars. The paintings arouse many questions about citizenship and its wide range of definitions in a changing world.
Splat
This symbolizes “what bullies think of humanity & what humanity thinks of bullies.” Patriotic, political, or religious conditioning invariably perverts intuitive moral judgments without humanity being aware of it. Diverse tribal rituals or practices are employed by leaders of church or state in their attempt to gain strength of unity through loyalty and allegiance. Such indoctrination is then often imposed upon other less powerful neighboring states or unsuspecting peoples round the world by intrusive methods, such as evangelism, various forms of propaganda, or by blatant expansionist aggression. These attempts at subjugation may be motivated by greed, megalomania, or simply by blind indoctrinated bigotry; but, in the end, the consequences are often counterproductive when humanity comes to realizes there is a far deeper universal truth over which no nation, religion, or political ideal can ever justifiably claim monopoly.
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Hidden Persuaders
One of the oldest cultures in the world has just been destroyed by one of the youngest, whose only understanding is money and the glitzy artifacts it can buy. Now, under the guise of “reconstruction” begins the systematic rape of the hearts and minds of that nation by the “hidden persuaders.”
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Conflict of Convictions
Leaders throughout history have invariably measured the strength of a nation by the loyalty of its citizens so they have always encouraged patriotism. If, however, the brainwashing appeal of national identity is examined more dispassionately, it may be seen merely as a self-congratulatory fantasy based on nothing more than an accident of birth. Only when it is realized that no nation has an intrinsic monopoly of truth or status over another and is therefore not worth killing or dying for, will peace between nations be possible. |
