A Church-Tank by Kris Kuksi

This is a "churchtank" by Kris Kuksi.  Kuksi is represented by the Joshua Liner Gallery, a gallery that consistently presents good shows.

Why do I like this churchtank concept?

Basically, I think the bottom part, the tank part, represents what might be called our 'animal nature.'  The top part, or church part, represents our 'spiritual' nature or capacities.  We are the churchtank and the churchtank is us.

There are other less abstract interpretations as well.  This artist seems really interested, for instance, in the use of terrifying weapons to create situations of extreme peace. The implication is obvious - there can be no pacifistic spiritual quest for individual perfection outside of a society in which the pilgrims are protected by a massive military industry.

Of course, another obvious interpretation is that America is 80% Christian and currently involved in conflicts in a couple Muslim countries.  One could surmise that the church and state have been working hand in hand in recent conflicts.  The church becomes a validation for the military and the military props up the church.  Indeed, this seems to happen all the time.  The current Pope, after all, when he was a priest, supported the military government that killed a generation of Argentineans.

In many of Kuksi's pieces you see lots of military stuff surrounding images of peaceful god-like beings. The god-like beings seem to be the ideals for those who seek a spiritual perfection (within a given tradition?), the soldiers and weapons make that possible.

Here's an example but it's hard to see the little soldiers and military things:

Me (wearing my art hat - nope, that's not my artwork I'm standing next to):