Biography
Philip Lawson was born in Bristol, Tennessee in 1967. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Ringling School of Art
and Design in Florida in 1991 and a Masters Degree in Marriage and Family Therapy with an emphasis in Art Therapy from Notre
dame de Namur University in California in 2001. His eclectic approach to making art has included scoring films, producing
music videos, and working in a variety of other media, from painting and sculpture to photography and ceramics. For a recent
conceptual series, he created life-size assault rifles in Lucite and embellished them with religious iconography and allegorical
imagery. |
The Photos
As a conceptual artist my interests were to push the boundaries of photography into the realm of the short story. They are cinematic representations of an atmosphere a place or a subject. These series of photos are designed to represent the subject in cells as in a film or in paragraphs as in a short story. They represent the many layers of understanding, dimensions of time and space that makes up the world, as we perceive it. |
The Sculpture
My reasoning behind this series is not to glorify the gun but use it’s form as a vehicle to communicate an idea.The major conflicts of the last century (and of many century’s before this) seem to me to have been between peoples of a common origin. The Assault rifle seems to be the preferred form of communication between them. I have attempted to use the same vehicle and send a peaceful message. These sculpture are an effort to remind the three major religions of their common origin: Abraham. From this one person came Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The conceptual piece of this series is to transform the weapon into an Icon.
Each “Icon” is engraved with messages of compassion and allegorical images.
They are engraved in Arabic, Hebrew, Latin, Aramaic, Greek, and English. They are made from Lucite plastic and are cast 1 = 1 size directly from the weapon. |
Description of Sets
Sets are printed on archival quality paper.
Digital, ink-jet print on satin paper.
Lustre over lamination.
Mounted on 1/8" black Sentra board,
1/2" back gator bars on back for easy hanging.
Each image 16” by 20” with 1½” border and 3” on bottom.
Each image in the set is printed separately to be hung by buyer.
For example a set of 5 images across and 4 down will be :
110 inches by 76 inches or 9 foot wide by 6 feet tall. |
| Description of Singles
Description of Singles;
Singles are printed on archival quality paper.
Digital, ink-jet print on satin paper.
Lustre over lamination.
Mounted on 1/8" black Sentra board,
1/2" back gator bars on back for easy hanging.
Each image 16” by 20” with 1½” border and 3” on bottom. |
