on the wall: Type A

“Created in New York City in the 1960’s, “The Thug,” aka Advanced Silhouette SP-83a, aka B-60, became the standard paper target utilized by the New York Police Department for target practice. It was soon adopted by other cities and gun enthusiasts. Today, it is the official target of the United States Department of Homeland Security. “The Thug” is meant to symbolize an actual, physical threat that must be met with deadly force. Not a circular target or anonymous silhouette, the hunched corpulent figure aims a gun right at you.

Security devices in the urban environment are so prevalent as to almost disappear from the public’s notice. Objects which are designed to offer a layer of reassurance in an atmosphere of fear become part of the landscape. Likewise, images of “the enemy” have become woven into every aspect of the media to a degree that begins to drain them of any sense of threat. Target represents this unspoken transformation from the utilitarian to the banal. Like an earlier work Barrier, aestheticizing functional objects can be not only absurd, but critical of social indifference. Target brings an image from police training into the living room and makes the archetypal image of the enemy part of everyday life using neon, the medium of the corner store, the neighborhood movie theater, the local bar.” – excerpt from Type A artist statement 2012