Polar Bear Express

Polar Bear Express assemblage

"Cha Ching" by John Robertson

9 1/2" x 10 1/4" wood composition plastic, newspaper, tar

I hadn't thought about it before but Polar Bear meat use

to be around $1.99 a pound but now (because of Global Warming)

and the disappearance of the bears they go for around $5.99 a pound.
It's getting much more expensive to run a dog team on

polar bear meat. The Eskimos are only getting about fifty miles a pound

and looking for an alternative food source.

Tar wars Soldiers

Tar War Soldiers

12" x 12" toy soldiers, paper, glue, wood

I had created this piece before in a different form.

I took that piece apart and recreated it in this format.

I thought about calling it "oil hunters" but that seemed

unfair to the soldiers. And Bush's reverberating

adventure into the presidency seems to be coming to an end.

Venice Family Clinic Donation

Car Tar Pit

This is the piece I donated to the Venice Art Walk for their silent auction to raise money for the Venice Family Clinic in Venic, CA. My sweetheart (also an artist see LynnHanson.com) has her studio in Venice and it is also on the Venice Art Walk. The Venice Artwalk is probably the largest art event in the Los Angeles area and occurs once every year.

Venice Family Clinic Plate

The Venice Family Clinic gave a variety of artists 14" plates to create an image and then fired it. The plates were then auctioned off to raise money for the Family Clinic. This image was taken from one of my earlier works on canvas (see below). It just seemed like the perfect design for the round plate - although I'm not sure how many people want to display or eat off of something with a political message.

Type Fifty - Prisoner on Flag

Prisoner on Flag painting by John Robertson
I have no idea what the type fifty means.
It just seemed the right words for the image
50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

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Cornel West Portrait

Cornel West Portrait.
Painting by John Robertson is 50" x 70"

acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

Cornel West, a well-known activist is Professor of Religion

and African American Studies at Princeton University

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Global Warming - Entitlement

As Al Gore says, “It may be an inconvenient truth but….”
Political artwork about global warming and the green house effect.
This assemblage was recently posted on my other website but
it seems that this is a better place for it.
The piece is approximately 12” high by 21” wide by 9” deep.

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Tar Pit Car Assemblage Art

A bit of tar has been showing up on the beach in front

of my studio the last couple of weeks. I understand it

is coming from normal seepage cracks in the ocean floor.

That not too reassuring but it is not thick enough to

cause any damage – except to my feet as I run on the

beach. Because the tar is widely dispersed it is not

always easy to see and avoid . The local Indians that

lived in this area a few hundred years ago used the tar

to waterproof their canoes. As I have lived most of my

life real close to the beach – (a few hundred yards) the

tar has always been a part of my life. In this assemblage

the cars imbedded and coated with tar reflects the use

and misuse of the natural resource. I heard a comment

the other day saying that if oil was discovered in the

fifteenth century we wouldn’t be here today. I think it

would have been tough to feed the stuff to the horses.

Prey Cross Painting

This Prey painting is an example of a social
political commentary by John Robertson that
can be interpreted in a couple of ways. I’ll
let you decide what you think is the meaning
of the art. But remember there is another
way of looking at it so don’t be too quick to
judge. The painting is 50” x 70” acrylic/latex
on unstretched canvas.

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Five Biggest Lies Bush Told Us About Iraq

Robert Sheer wrote this book and I used it as a reference point.
The interesting thing to me is that the book was written a few
years ago and it's as if nobody has paid any attention to what
Bush has done. It's all just dismissed. The process reminds
me of when I was a child and my family would be driving
on a trip. I'd want to stop to go to the bathroom and my father
did not want to stop. He would say, "Look! Look over there.
Look ! - a two-headed chicken or an albino cow."
He'd say anything to distract me.
The copy in the painting says, "The results of our survey
shows how easily a telemarketer can pressure you with
bait-and-switch tricks unless you know what to look for."

The social political painting
is 50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

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Tar Mussels from the beach

I remember the Santa Barbara oil spill back in

January 29, 1969 where a Union Oil Co. platform six miles

off the coast had a blowout. Although they capped the hole

the expanding pressure ruptured the ocean floor in five

places and for eleven days oil and gas released into the ocean.

200,000 gallons of crude oil bubbled to the surface and

was spread into an 800 square mile slick by winds and

swells. Our beach in front had chunks of tar that covered

a variety of sea life. I remember seeing the mussels on some

of the rocks getting covered in the gooey mess. This

assemblage is a reminder of that time.

When some people talk to me about the need for protecting the

environment I always think they mean something else. The

meetings about the environmental impact always seem to

be about salutations from everyone - who knows what day

it is - and everyone seems to know the names of everyone

else on the committees. They seem to know everything

except anything.

War Babies

"Oh Mommy Sugarland War Babies" painting by John Robertson

50" x 70" Acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

This political art is about child soldiers who are recruited/drafted into

armed groups around the world. Human Rights Watch estimates

200,000 to 300,000 children are serving as in armed conflicts.

They are used as human mine detectors, participate in suicide

missions, carry supplies, and act as spies, messengers or lookouts.

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Guns and knives (after Louise)

Gun issue is a big part of the political argument.

I’m for the second amendment and incidentally

all the other amendments – along with the bill

of rights etc. etc. etc. Even that Free Speech

one where people occasionally contact me about

trying to control my free speech. It’ always odd

to me who wants the free speech for whom.

Anyway back to the gun control issue:

If you want real protection you should understand

that gun ownership may not afford the best

protection for a homeowner. As I recall in the

book" Freakonomics" by Stephen D. Levitt and

Stephen J. Dunbar they stated that gun deaths

are low relative to swimming pools deaths. With

that in mind it seems that instead of buying an

AK47 for protection homeowners should be

digging moats.

aminals in Tar (after Louise)

Tar Pits 7 1/2" x 9" mixed media black
assemblage - wood, tar, plastic, metal, paint.
As a child quite regularly I visited the
La Brea Tar Pits in Los Angeles. I loved
going there and still do.

So what are political implications of this piece?
As a hint and background the La Brea tar pits
area is where some of the first oil fields in
Los Angeles and were developed and there
are still a few oil wells in the area.

Captian America

Battlefield Symbols are Blood Red and Personal

This screams Horribly Familiar

Political Art by John Robertson

50" 70" Acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas

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Generation Kill

The Generation Kill painting by John Robertson was originally done
to promote a book signing ar Village Books for the non-fiction book
by Evan Wright. "Generation Kill," is, or will be a seven-hour
scripted miniseries based on the true story of Marines fighting in the Iraq war.

The original art is 50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

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Scott McClellan book WHAT HAPPENED Bush Quotes Video

This video is a response to the quote from Scott McClellan
former White House press secretary's book
WHAT HAPPENED Inside the Bush White House
and What's Wrong with Washington."

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No War

No War Painting by John Robertson 50" x 70"
acrylic/latex on unstretrched canvas

"What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans
and the homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought
under the name of totalitarianism or the holy name of
liberty or democracy." - Mahatma Gandhi

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legs against arms

For those of you who follow my work on

both my blogs you will see some of my current

social political work on posted on both sites at the

same time.

"Legs against Arms" assemblage by John Robertson
8" x 8 1/2" wood, plastic. I imagine there are
a couple of interesting thoughts about the meaning
of this assemblage. Don't ask me. I'd just make
something up. You can do that for yourself.

McCain – the Kazoo not to be confused with “The Great Gazoo”

So the political message in this piece of art is the kazoo

and the lock in which a politician like McCain sing

into the kazoo to pipe for the vote.

And all that comes out is the kazoo’s "buzzing"

tumbral sound in his voice. Now you will say,

"I don’t see that in that piece of art?" That’s an

excellent observation. Notice the shell casing.

Notice the screw. Notice the A’s and the

number 41. All that meaning. Which means,

"It is what I say it is." You should be familiar

with that tactic. "It is what someone yells and shouts."
This black 7 ½" x 9" assemblage by John Robertson.

Wood, plastic metal, paint, glue.

Anit-War Video How Great Thou Art

I'm not sure what this means - it is
just a few things I wanted to put together
to see how it worked. It is anti-something -
more than just war or a political statement
but I'm not quite sure what that is.

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Tar Pit Toy Assemblage

Oil. The stink of oil is on everything. I can’t go to the

beach without smelling it. I walk across the highway

from my studio to the beach and the traffic just smells.

You’d think that all our experience with the destruction

of the earth we would recognize that we are destroying

it. But good judgement usually comes from bad

experience – only in our case we are just getting more

bad experiences. But we are consistent. We are just as

stupid as we were a generation ago. What ever happened

to evolution? But, as someone once said, "Evolution

does not make mistakes."

We’ve covered ourselves with the need for oil. I bath in it

. I stink of oil. Oil shows through my white gloves. I sail in

a glass bottom boat on a sea of oil. I prefer to not look

down. If you don’t use oil or your allotment of oil you’re

an idiot. That’s the economy. That’s the law.

Tar Pit Toys Assemblage - Artist John Robertson

Of arms, legs and man I sing - assemblage

The continuing nausea of the Iraq/Afghanistan war.

Of arms and man I sing or I sing of arms and man or

of arms and the man I sing referencing Virgil’s Aeneid,

Shaw’s play or the experimental rock group (which no

longer exists) depending on your literary/ musical

background. War is the main issue and here in this

assemblage we see the torn arms and legs of toy soldiers

and an occasional cowboy drenched in tar. I originally did

this piece without the tar but somehow it called to me

(kinda like the muse of Virgil) to slop the tar over the

piece. That’s an obvious reference and I am told to quit

commenting on my pieces of art. Art should for the

observer to make the connections. You know, like adding

the words Iraq or war or oil etc. But what usually

happens is the viewer makes some disparaging remark

on some meaning of which I had no intention to arouse.

Basically they don’t get it. I’m just trying to help it along.

Illegal Parrots

We’ve had a flock of Amazon parrots or Black Hoodies

living close to me for a number of years. In this photo

you can see a couple of them sitting in the top of one

of the Kumquat trees across from my studio. It’s a

real immigration problem with these birds that no

one seems to want to address. Interestingly they are

originally from the southwestern Brazil to northern

Argentina area of South America. Somehow they

slipped by immigration and are living illegally here

– harvesting the kumquat crops. We’ve called

immigration a couple of times but they have refused

to come out saying they don’t have the manpower to

enforce their illegal activity. Their first question asked by

immigration was, "are you sure they are illegal? "

We did catch one of the parrots sleeping in a tree and

it did have identification showing it had been vaccinated

for the bird flue but it had no social security card or

driver’ license. A couple of the local residences have

been spotted building a blind and stalking the birds

with shotguns – but to no avail. Some locals are leaving

sun flower seeds and water out for the parrots to help

them survive. Others are poisoning the supplies. It’s

an interesting problem for the community to decide

whether it is important to incorporate the birds into

the local scene or try to eradicate them. To some

the parrots are pests to others they add color and form.

Car Tar Pit Assemblage

There is something wrong with a good idea (the auto)

with the ugly fact of the pollution.

Car Tar Pit Assemblage by John Robertson

Haiti

The Haiti painting by John Robertson speaks for itself. If you
click on the image it will enlarge and you will be able to see
more of the text. 50" x 70" acrylic latex on unstretched canvas.

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Jesus in a Pick-up Truck Assemblage

Jesus in a Pick-up Truck Assemblage
Outsider art by John Robertson

I was watching the news about Sen Barack Obama's
speech yesterday and they showed sermons from the
Rev. Jeremiah Wright, Obama's longtime pastor. Nothing
like a good sacrifice at the alter. Sometimes religion
is like a can tied to the tail of a dog. It
made me think that there is nobody more sincere
than a preacher given a sermon. I don’t mean this
in any way directed towards Obama – as I like him
very much and think him to be very sincere and
honest – but it also reminded me that there is nobody
more sincere than a politician telling a lie.

Due to Content Discretion is Advised

Due to Content Discretion is Advised Environmental Painting
Approximately 50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

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Political Fireworks 4th of July Video

The video is approximately 2 min long

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Tar Assmeblage Art - Beach Junk

Tar Assmeblage Art - Beach Junk Social Political

art by John Robertson .
There seems to be two kinds of beach goers the ones who

are picking stuff up and others that are throwing stuff

down. Or as Yogi Berra said (maybe) "If people don’t want

to dump stuff on the beach – nobody is going to stop them."

My studio is right across the street from the beach. Most

days I take a run in the late morning and sometimes stop

to collect stuff from the beach for assemblages. I try and

take the stuff from the same small section of the beach

(about 50 yards). It is interesting to see what floats or

gets washed up each day. I don’t collect every day but

I do observe the same stretch of sand. So this Tar

Assemblage art is a small sampling of junk washed up

a couple of days ago. After awhile one sees the same sort

of stuff reoccurring – lighters, bottle caps, plastic cups –

bottles – broken foam cups, etc. A real mess on any given

day and a real testimony to the care so many give

to the beach environment

You don’t want to start cleaning up the environment
tomorrow – tomorrow it may rain.

Tar Pit Forest from the Sea Assemblage

Tar pit assemblage art by John Robertson . This social political

piece about the ocean and the environment (including the

use of oil as a resource) points out that there is one thing

I am sure of, it is that we are screwing up the earth. If you

aren’t an environmentalist now think of how you will feel

about that in fifty years. Of course it will be really ruined by

then . The problem is there is more of you now than us.

And it’s as if some people find it amusing that we are

destroying it and ourselves along with it. And if you don’t

believe that then you are overestimating your intelligence.

Tar Pits Crab

Assemblage political art by John Robertson is 7 1/2" x 9"
There’s a lot of fifty dollar a barrel oil out there
Right now – the problem is it cost over a hundred
Dollars. Oil might have been a good for us at one
time but we’ve been using too much of it for too
long. For those that don’t get the fact that global
warming is a problem – I just don’t understand
what is on their mind – which, I guess is
an overstatement

Conflict Management

The term "redemptive violence" has always fascinated me.

It seems such a trait of ours to achieve redemption

though the use of violence. Certainly the Iraq and the

Afghanistan is a perfect example of redemptive violence.

And what always fascinates me is that so many people

don’t understand that the death of Christ on the cross

is his redemption through violence.

This political painting by John Robertson

is 50" x 70" acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

immigration Artwork Assemblage by John Robertson

Tough immigration laws are made by those who are

having a better time. Roosevelt said that we are

all descended from immigrants. I know that for

me I’m lucky that there were no immigration laws

when my family came to this country. Of course

they immigrated from the Garden of Eden. –

Immigration assemblage by John Robertson

Congo Tomb

Well - it looks like they are stalling again on the war

crimes trials. I think all of this is a "fools errand"

to try and acomplish any major change to the

Congo's problems. It's that constant battle

for privilage - all actions directed towards getting

advantage over someone else. sometimes -

sometimes is good do do something that is not

always to your advantage.

Prisoner with Crow

Some people think a way to wash away the sins

of a prisoner is via waterboarding. Kind of a

redemptive baptism. W.C. Fields had a funny

line about water. He said, "You can't trust water:

even a straight stick turns crooked in it."
Afghanistan - Iraq

Prisoner with Crow political commentary painting

by John Robertson is 50" x 70"

acrylic/latex on unstretched canvas.

Baby Jesus and Mary Assmeblage (after Louise)

Baby Jesus and Mary assemblage by John Robertson
is 4 1/2" x 6 1/2" plastic, ceramic, wood, metal and
paint. As a card carrying church member I have
always been interested in religious symbols. I
constantly refer back to those images and use
them a lot in my work. I think it comes from
being raised in a strong religious family. Ministers
(in the past) have not always understood or
appreciated my work. As I have said about my
work - it is not about communicating a particular
point a view but trying to understand or come to
terms with what subject I'm investigating.
Here in this work its about the religious objects
and the use of the black paint.