S.N.A.F.U. Milieu Series
The theme of this series is the dystopian nature of cities. It borrows the 1940s American military slang term S.N.A.F.U. which is an abbreviation for Situation Normal All Fucked Up. This seemed analogous with my urban experiences and therefore, begged to be the series title.
The series began in 1978 as a painting and poetry project and continued intermittently. The paintings are phantasmagoric impressions derived from conscious and subconscious processes and capture essence rather than detail. In so complex and diverse a milieu, I believe impressions are more in order. One artist cannot take it all in or tell the entire story without becoming cumbersome, tedious, self limiting, or sacrificing authenticity. I therefore limited the content to personal experience as interpreted by the various modes of consciousness.
The end result is a series depicting the urban psycho-sphere rather than issues such as crime, violence, poverty, overcrowding and such. These topics are well covered by many artists. The psycho-sphere of most cities is focused on, among other things, careerism, money, consumption, and the quest for social ascendancy. Because they are artificial environments separate from nature, they are often delusional, egotistical, providing little room for spirituality. Their imposing mega-systems force one into a repetitive, stressful, pragmatic, and often dehumanizing existence in which daily life resembles a machine.
Some of the imagery was inspired by the unremitting clichés of my fellow urbanites. Office workers complained about "dragging themselves to work" each day, or that they were part of the "Rat Race". Working class people declared that they wanted their "piece of the pie" while corporate professionals brooded over being "swallowed up or devoured by the System" and so on.
The purpose of S.N.A.F.U. MILIEU is to inspire alternative lifestyles and the realization that the dystopias people commit themselves to or take for granted as their sole option are merely one approach to life. It is also a reminder to those blessed enough to live in free nations that alternative lifestyles are not only entirely possible, but also a human right.
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