Matthew Coté
Full Circle
Sterling silver, Gilding metal, Brass, Enamel Paint and Resin
3” x 3” x. 25”
$550
A part of this wearable brooch are 20 different variants of the AR-15 rifle, a rifle infamous since the Sandy Hook school shooting, in a circle that represents the 20 years since Columbine and the creation of the piece (1999–2019). What has changed since then? A circle is continuous, a circle of guns represents an infinity of the same problem in this country. It is a problem with no end in sight, continuing endlessly.
The exhibition calls for themes that reflect upon hindsight with regards to the year of 2020. My work is inherently political, but with regards to 2020 this piece strikes a particular chord; that is by 2020 we should know better. This piece analyses a polarizing issue in which Americans keep struggling over. Does owning or rejecting the ownership of guns question what truly makes someone a patriot? Does rejection or acceptance of gun ownership accomplish anything? As Carl Sagan once wrote, "Real patriots ask questions." The hindsight of the work is haunting, because despite being presented with the same lessons, then asking the same questions, we never really seem to learn and progress towards a reasonable solution. What may end up being the end result is a continuous circle of violence.
matthew-cote.com
intagram: @cotemetalsmith
facebook: facebook.com/cotemetalsmith
Sterling silver, Gilding metal, Brass, Enamel Paint and Resin
3” x 3” x. 25”
$550
A part of this wearable brooch are 20 different variants of the AR-15 rifle, a rifle infamous since the Sandy Hook school shooting, in a circle that represents the 20 years since Columbine and the creation of the piece (1999–2019). What has changed since then? A circle is continuous, a circle of guns represents an infinity of the same problem in this country. It is a problem with no end in sight, continuing endlessly.
The exhibition calls for themes that reflect upon hindsight with regards to the year of 2020. My work is inherently political, but with regards to 2020 this piece strikes a particular chord; that is by 2020 we should know better. This piece analyses a polarizing issue in which Americans keep struggling over. Does owning or rejecting the ownership of guns question what truly makes someone a patriot? Does rejection or acceptance of gun ownership accomplish anything? As Carl Sagan once wrote, "Real patriots ask questions." The hindsight of the work is haunting, because despite being presented with the same lessons, then asking the same questions, we never really seem to learn and progress towards a reasonable solution. What may end up being the end result is a continuous circle of violence.
matthew-cote.com
intagram: @cotemetalsmith
facebook: facebook.com/cotemetalsmith