Existing comment:
Mel (Melesio) Casas
born El Paso, TX 1929–died San Antonio, TX 2014
Humanscape 43
1968
acrylic on canvas
Mel Casas Family Trust
A leading figure in Con Safo, one of the earliest Chicano art groups, Casas had been drafted, served in, and injured during the Korean War. The experience informed his opposition to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. In the artist's words, "the skills of war are killing" -- a statement projected here. "$KILL$" also stresses what Casas considered the financial motivations driving war; as Casas put it, "dollars kill." The figures in front could be a soldier moving from induction, to being equipped, to preparing to fire. Alternatively, 1968 being a presidential election year, the figure at left might be a commander-in-chief being sworn in, his upright arm echoed by the weapons wielded on his orders. |