Presenting Artist Craig Foster

I'm always thrilled when a new artist contacts me. Craig Foster emailed me with a link to his website and I immediately saw that his work would be perfect to exhibit here on the blog. He's got a variety of image styles but his themes are recurrent and very timely. I've chosen to introduce you to his art by starting with three posters that caught my eye first. These three images take the well known graphic style of artist Michael Schwab and pushes it to put the Iraq war into the clearest of visual terms.






















Iraq © 2003 Craig Foster

There seems to be something wrong with President Bush's Iraq adventure. What's a rigid, right-wing, rapturist leader to do about the "winning and not winning" that's going on 3000 miles, and 3000 US soldier's bodies, away from Washington DC?
BUSH IRAQ QUOTES:

"When I take action, I'm not going to fire a $2 million missile at a $10 empty tent and hit a camel in the butt. It's going to be decisive." —George W. Bush, Washington, D.C. Sept. 19, 2001

"I just want you to know that, when we talk about war, we're really talking about peace." — George W. Bush, June 18, 2002

"I'm a patient man. And when I say I'm a patient man, I mean I'm a patient man. Nothing he [Saddam Hussein] has done has convinced me — I'm confident the Secretary of Defense — that he is the kind of fellow that is willing to forgo weapons of mass destruction, is willing to be a peaceful neighbor, that is — will honor the people — the Iraqi people of all stripes, will — values human life. He hasn't convinced me, nor has he convinced my administration." — George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, Aug. 21, 2002

I would remind you that when the inspectors first went into Iraq and were denied -- finally denied access, a report came out of the Atomic -- the IAEA, that they were six months away from developing a weapon. I don't know what more evidence we need. - Camp David, Maryland, Sep. 7, 2002

Baghdad © 2003 Craig Foster

I'm the commander — see, I don't need to explain — I do not need to explain why I say things. That's the interesting thing about being president." — George W. Bush, as quoted in Bob Woodward's "Bush at War"

"The war on terror involves Saddam Hussein because of the nature of Saddam Hussein, the history of Saddam Hussein, and his willingness to terrorize himself." — George W. Bush, Grand Rapids, Mich., Jan. 29, 2003

"The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." —George W. Bush, State of the Union Address, Jan. 28, 2003

Saddam Hussein is a threat to our nation. September the 11th changed the strategic thinking, at least, as far as I was concerned, for how to protect our country. My job is to protect the American people. It used to be that we could think that you could contain a person like Saddam Hussein, that oceans would protect us from his type of terror. September the 11th should say to the American people that we're now a battlefield, that weapons of mass destruction in the hands of a terrorist organization could be deployed here at home. - White House, Mar. 6, 2003
Source

(MORE BUSH QUOTES BELOW)

Could it be that George W. Bush made an, er, um...oh what do you call it when you make a decision and it turns out to be completely wrong? Oh yes, a MISTAKE!

The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating...

If the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences could be severe. A slide toward chaos could trigger the collapse of Iraq's government and a humanitarian catastrophe.
- Iraq Study Group Report

Kirkuk © 2003 Craig Foster

What about the oil? The latest:

Iraq's massive oil reserves, the third-largest in the world, are about to be thrown open for large-scale exploitation by Western oil companies under a controversial law which is expected to come before the Iraqi parliament within days.

The US government has been involved in drawing up the law, a draft of which has been seen by The Independent on Sunday. It would give big oil companies such as BP, Shell and Exxon 30-year contracts to extract Iraqi crude and allow the first large-scale operation of foreign oil interests in the country since the industry was nationalized in 1972. Ah yes...Iraq's oil

Let's make certain the new Democratic Congress stops Bush from sending more troops to Iraq, presents a workable withdrawal plan, and gets our soldiers out of the civil war Bush created. Join your local MoveOn.org Coordinating Council so you can organize with your fellow progressive activists, then meet with your Congressional Representatives. They're not going to do this without constant vigilance by you and me!
Coordinating Councils Unless of course you prefer to follow Bush's instructions:






















We'll Fight You Shop © 2004 Craig Foster

About Craig Foster

With the advent of war in Iraq, Foster felt a great urgency to respond artistically and his goal became the creation of a piece a day based on his impressions from the news. It became clear that a digital format was the most efficient means of channeling this response as, according to Foster, "there just wasn't enough time to let the paint dry".

The little characters portrayed in some of Foster's animation and prints are used intentionally to add light relief to the political message conveyed. His hope is to appeal to even those observers who might disagree with such a missive and be inclined to dismiss the work at first glance. Foster's art is also a successful indictment of the ready acceptance of war and the notion that military intervention is always a
safe and effective means of protecting America and the rest of the world.

I'm Telling You © 2004 Craig Foster
Please respect the work of the artists you see here and be sure to credit them when you share their artwork with others.

To share your opinion on this or any other post, please click the word "COMMENTS" below.

MORE BUSH QUOTES:

You know, it's amazing, the statue comes down on Wednesday and the headlines start to read: oh, there's disorder. Well, no kidding. It is a situation that is chaotic because Saddam Hussein created the conditions for chaos. He created conditions of fear and hatred. And it's going to take a while to stabilize the country. - Washington, D.C., Apr. 13, 2003

"I think war is a dangerous place." — George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., May 7, 2003

"We ended the rule of one of history's worst tyrants, and in so doing, we not only freed the American people, we made our own people more secure." — George W. Bush, Crawford, Texas, May 3, 2003

"We've got hundreds of sites to exploit, looking for the chemical and biological weapons that we know Saddam Hussein had prior to our entrance into Iraq." — George W. Bush, Santa Clara, Calif., May 2, 2003

I am absolutely convinced with time we'll find out that they did have a weapons program. - Washington, D.C., Jun. 9, 2003

There are some who feel like that, uhh -- if they -- attack us, that we may decide to leave prematurely. They don't understand what they're talkin' about, if that's the case. Let me finish. Umm, there are some who, uhh -- feel like -- that, you know, the conditions are such that they can attack us there. My answer is bring 'em on. - Washington, D.C., Jul. 2, 2003

"I want to remind you all that in order to fight and win the war, it requires an expenditure of money that is commiserate with keeping a promise to our troops to make sure that they're well-paid, well-trained, well-equipped." — George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2003

"Iraqis are sick of foreign people coming in their country and trying to destabilize their country." - George W. Bush, interview with Al Arabiya Television, May 5, 2004

Before you went in, Iraqis were an oppressed people, and the dictator threatened his neighbors, the Middle East and the world. Today, the Iraqis are liberated people, the former regime is gone, and our nation and the world is more secure. - Miramar, California, Aug. 14, 2003

"Had we to do it over again, we would look at the consequences of catastrophic success, being so successful so fast that an enemy that should have surrendered or been done in escaped and lived to fight another day." --George W. Bush, telling Time magazine that he underestimated the Iraqi resistance.

Obviously, I think they're going badly for the soldiers who lost their lives, and I weep for that person and their family. But no, I think we're making good progress.
- Answering a question on how he thought the "postwar" effort was going, interview broadcast on Fox Broadcast Network, Sep. 21, 2003

"I'm not the expert on how the Iraqi people think, because I live in America, where it's nice and safe and secure." - George W. Bush, Washington, D.C., Sept. 23, 2004

"You know, one of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror." - Interview with CBS News' Katie Couric, Sept. 6, 2006
Source

Please respect the work of the artists you see here and be sure to credit them when you share their artwork with others.

To share your opinion on this or any other post, please click the word "COMMENTS" below.