The Death of Common Sense/The Death of Innocents

“The Death of…” pants are the first in a series of mixed media works using ruined or unwanted apparel as canvas.  These jeans, for instance, were in my regular clothing rotation until a ball point pen exploded in my pocket.

The pants were stenciled with words, painted, and then bleached multiple times on each side.  The front side is done in acrylic paint and is titled The Death of Innocents:

UURJE YEH MAH
UURJE YEH PAH
UURJE TEH CHILHD’S FLEETING FLAW

SPLURGE THEIR FEARS
VERGE OF TEARS
THEY’LL BE YET HAARDEND SUNE

The back side is done in oil paint and is titled The Death of Common Sense:

BAD LEADERSPPPATRONIZE
GOOD LEADERSPPPOLARIZE
GREAT LEADERS GALVANIZE

YOU GOTTA WALK TO FALL
YOU GOTTA TALK TO DRAWL
‘GOTTA BE GOOD TO BE GREAT

While I’ve included photos that show me wearing the work, the jeans are not an act of fashion and not intended for normal wear.  In a casual setting, the text on the work falls to the level of ornamentation – glanced over or read aloud in a singsong voice but not considered.  A setting where consideration is implicit such as a gallery space is more the intended context. 

So why jeans then?