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Freedom’s Flag Flies

by Kara Arsenault | Oct 30, 2005 10:28 am

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Posted to: Arts

As the president entered the room on Saturday, a two-man band played “Hail to the Chief.” He addressed the crowd from a podium covered with a small piece of cardboard and American flag stamps. Everyone wore rose-colored glasses. The president’s message to the public? No comment…in light of the ongoing investigation, of course.

This press conference had nothing to do with “Scooters” or Supreme Court speculation. This was about art, the compliant press, and french fries. The staged question-and-answer session was part of Artspace’s City-Wide Open Studios, the month-long arts festival that comes to a close Sunday.

This weekend’s “alternative space” exhibit at 91 Shelton Ave. in Newhallville took place in the newly reopened New Haven Business Center, featuring “five floors and 130,000 square feet of artwork.”

Room 104 is home to “Opening Act,” the first event for the newly created Freedom Fries Art Collective.

The press conference, part of the “Opening Act” exhibit, was what you might call a media circus,  complete with questioning clowns:

Clown: “Mr. President, can you tell us whether you oppose birth control?”

The president: “I’ve made my views known on that issue.” 

Clown: “So yes or no. Do you oppose birth control?”

The president: “I think you know where I stand. Yes means yes and no means no.”

“President” Jeff Jacoby and his wife Sharon Steuer formed the Freedom Fries Arts Collective after the last presidential election. Both closely followed the national race; Steuer worked for the Howard Dean campaign. When the results came in, the couple was disturbed by reports of voter fraud. They tried to talk to friends about the incidents, but most people hadn’t heard a thing. The couple was amazed. These people watched CNN. They read The New York Times. Hadn’t they heard about tampering at the polls, or the loyalty oaths required to hear the president speak? “People watching the news weren’t knowledgeable,” Steuer says. “It was really freaking me out. These stories were being buried in the papers.”

Jacoby and Steuer decided to take action. “Instead of screaming from a bank counter or yelling at local political meetings, we decided to use art,” Steuer recalls. The idea made sense. Steuer had been involved with art for over two decades. Jacoby will receive his Master of Fine Arts in January. Their first collaborative project was taking shape; all they needed was a name.

They were looking for “the most ridiculous title” they could find. The idea hit them while they were cooking french fries at home. The decision of many restaurants in 2003–even the Congressional Cafeteria–to change French fries to freedom fries in protest of France’s lack of support for the Iraq war was adequately absurd. So the “Freedom Fries Art Collective” was born. Three of the homemade fries now grace their promotional sticker, the letter “F” formed with potatoes.

For Jacoby, the goal of their initial exhibit is simple. “We hope people will recognize that the mainstream press isn’t reporting the stories. If you want to know the truth, you have to dig for yourself.” And they really want the audience to have fun. “We wanted to transform the space into something you can experience. An immersive, fun, alternative experience.”

Immersive and interactive. When you walk through the door, you were handed the “rose-colored” glasses. Snippets of President Bush played over the loudspeaker. Quotes from government officials adorned the room in large, hanging posters. News articles smattered the walls, situated in between factory pipes, valves and electrical outlets. An animated video played a satirical newscast, where the cartoon correspondent announced that the terror level has been raised to “lilac.”

Plans are already underway for the Freedom Fries Art Collective’s next project. Sixty members strong, the group may shift focus from the compliant press to environmental policy. But humor will remain the weapon of choice. Think twice before tossing those rotting veggies from the fridge. The R-rated vegetable photo gallery is on its way.

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