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The Twin Oaks Progressive House Burn
Why Burn It?
The Progressive House Burn was an artistic political statement. The palette was a condemned building that had to be torn down. In years past the States Tavern had developed a colorful reputation as the local after hours site. Because it was outside the city limits of Faribault, Minnesota, it was not subject to municipal laws and could stay open after the bars in town had closed. Prior to my ownership (me being Robert Palmer) in 1988 States Tavern had been transformed into a multi unit residence and renamed Twin Oaks. In the spring of 2006 the Building Inspector advised me that it would not be possible for me to repair the building and he suggested I check with the fire department to see if there was an interest to use the building in a fire training exercise. The Fire Department agreed in conjunction with Riverland Community College to use the building in fire training.
Political Concern to Creative Expression
On January 28, 2007 I went to Washington, D.C. to attend an anti Iraq War – pro peace rally. In the evening I went to Bus Boys and Poets, a restaurant coffee house/ gathering center to hear Tom Hayden. Due to attendance and acoustics I was unable to hear Tom, however I met Bruce Berry and Jennifer Umolac, both also from the Minneapolis area. We discussed the idea of painting my condemned building with political murals. They agreed to help me when we got back to Minnesota. We again encountered each other at the two hundred person April 28th bedsheet spell of the word IMPEACH on a grassy park along the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. We affirmed that we would create a political event at the burn of my building. Bruce posted an invitation on the internet and I reposted it on another site. It seemed that no one was seeing our postings, however Bruce subsequently was able to find some more artists and he and John Grider were the ones that actually first put some paint on the building. This was only one and one half weeks before the burn and it seemed that we might not get the murals up. However John Grider and his friend Issac Arvold, who also go by the name BrokenCrow developed their skills doing graffetti. They are now traveling graphetti mural artists and they specialize in creating quick-sprayed murals. They put Bush, Cheney and Rice’s portraits up in one evening. Others of us painted with brushes and our respective styles are much slower. Nevertheless on several days we worked late into the night and on the day of the burn Bruce and Larry Thorin were so dedicated they were painting right up until the Fire Instructor said they needed to stop.
Disclaimer
While the fire instructor was very cooperative and allowed the painting to proceed while he was getting ready for the training exercise, the Fire Department and Riverland Community College were not a party to any of the murals or other political images at the site. They did not take a stand for or against any of the political statements.
Images Expressing Current Political Dislikes
The first art to go up were the facial images of Bush, Cheney, and Rice on one end of the building. Above their portraits John and Isaac sprayed the proclamation “YOU’RE FIRED”. Bush and Cheney and their cohorts are not our heroes, we rather see them as criminals and we burned them in effigy. Around the corner from this wall Bruce Berry with help from John and Isaac painted the Bush Chain Gang adapted from other anti Bush artist activists. We think a chain gang would be a good place for this administration to go. On the other side of the Bush Chain Gang there is a silhouette of Bruce watching and recording the Bush Chain Gang. This outline of Bruce represents our hope that even if these scoundrels get to a Chain Gang we hope the American people will keep their eyes on them. Beside this I painted an adaptation of some abstract felt pen art that I had created in the sixties. As applied to Twin Oaks this piece of art evolved to include a theme of fire. Below this we painted in large letters “SUPPORT IMPEACHMENT” and next to this and connected to it was my “Invisible Man”. The “Invisible Man” is connected to the fire and his torso is partially not present. In a sense he is like the CIA, Skull and Bones, or the Illuminati being only partially visible. Bruce also added a quote from Dante on the adjacent side of the front entry of Twin Oaks. The quote reads: ” The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in times of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality.”
Images Expressing Cherished Values and Symbols
We also wanted to show what we care about so we planned positive themes starting at the opposite side of the front entry and reaching around the rest of the front of the building. On the other side of the front entry Bruce painted the logo of the Veterans For Peace being a white dove on a hemisphere of black. The next image was my abstract art image of the “Dancing Man”. The torso of this man is also partially invisible however his arms and legs, and his essence, are all brought together in a circular manner to convey the positive sense of motion and dancing. There is a spirit of aliveness and happiness that is not evident with the Invisible Man. Beyond the Dancing Man is Larry Thorin’s Statue of Liberty. This Statue of Liberty is symbolically holding the building up with a pole and likewise helping to hold our society and our country together and give hope to all who know her. Below her is a banner that wraps around the corner of the building and then continues above. The banner reads: ” We the People in Order to Create Liberty and Justice for All”. At the peak of this wall above the banner is Larry’s red and yellow sun surrounded by green. Past the “Justice for All” another Statue of Liberty holds another supporting pole and she is flanked by a face of the American Eagle. The Eagle is very realistic and very beautiful. On another section of the wall below the banner is a flying Eagle with its wings spread. Thus there are two Statues of Liberty and two Eagles. On one side of the flying Eagle are human faces of different Races, and actually they all look like they are aliens from outer space and in a sense we are. On the other side of the flying eagle there are two windmills. As the wind lifts the eagle so the wind will lift man with renewable ecological power. Above the flying eagle and the windmills we proclaim: “Save the Constitution”. We recognize the Constitution as the most important document to the integrity of our United States and we want to preserve both the Constitution and our Country. Bush has said the Constitution is just a piece of paper and his illegal unconstitutional actions show he does not care about it or its meaning. As one of the creators of this art I feel very good whenever I look at our proclamations: “We the People”, “Save the Constitution”, and “Justice for All”, The Statues of Liberty and the Eagles are also affirming.
With Help From Nature We Sound the Alarm Like Paul Revere
While we want to proclaim what we care about and wish that was all we felt compelled to show we also have to be like Paul Revere and sound the alarm about what scares us. That is why we painted Bush, Cheney and Rice and YOURE FIRED. And with help from the fire gods we now have photos with flames coming out of Bush’s head and between Cheney’s teeth. We have images with the flames on the crown of one Statue of Liberty and of flames consuming the whole face of the other Statue of Liberty. The last images to burn were the words, “We the People” and the Face of the beautifully painted American Eagle representing Mother Nature. We felt that the spirit of the fire and the earth were interacting with us and our art and also affirming what we were trying to say. Recall John and Isaac spray painted the faces of Bush, Cheney, and Rice; well they also painted some graphetti on several other walls at the back of the building. John’s girlfriend is Christian so John painted “I Love Christian” adding a personal note and reminding us all of the love we all share for those in our lives and for the values we cherish. Another piece of graphetti reads BEDS and one that was outlined but not filled in with color reads BROKENCROW. And while BrokenCrow appears to not have been finished so also were other parts of what we imagined, because as I expressed above even after the fireman were present and were preparing for the burn Bruce and Larry were still painting. Also on the roof in large colorful letters Bruce and I painted: “STOP WAR NOW”
Spiritual Support, Individuality and Creative Teamwork
Focusing her attention on the word “WAR” we have a picture of Jennifer Umolac offering her spiritual support and blessing the Twin Oaks building. Because we believe in the Bill of Rights and freedom of speech and freedom of expression we also take pride in the fact that each artist created their work individually but also within a team. The give and take of working in a team was particularly evident to me as we painted the banners and proclamations. Larry painted the banner in one style and then at my request John and Isaac added Save the Constitution. Their style was bolder though and by comparison Larry’s proclamation seemed weak. I felt bad and did not know how this would be resolved, however Larry adapted to the situation and came back and added to his lettering and gave a new life and new balance to the whole effort. The final result is that the mixed efforts of several artists in creating the banners are a bound between them. The individuality can be seen in the art and the variety of art created. We had sprayed portraits, sprayed graphetti, verbal banner proclamations, abstract art, and finely painted realistic naturalist art, as evidenced by Larry’s two Statue of Liberties and the fine face of the American Eagle.
Video to Come
While we entered the burn day with an unknown number of photographers, after the burn I was able to collect copies of photos and video from seven people. We now have lots of photos and two hours of video and we hope to use our artistic efforts as a microphone to express our concerns for our planet and all life.
Recommended Heroes
Senator Robert Byrd, the eldest statesman in Congress has spoken wise words against this war before it started and has continued to eloquently speak as a true patriot. Senator Russell Feingold has championed human rights, peace, and the progressive political agenda. Congressman Dennis Kucinich has spoken truth to power and is advancing the political medicine of Impeachment. Former Senator Mike Gravel who helped end the draft by singlehandedly reading the Pentagon Papers into the Congressional record has stepped forth to again advance the cause of peace. Congressman Ron Paul has spoken truth to power and offered such in the Republican Presidential Debates. Daniel Ellsberg has written that Bush has admitted to impeachable offenses. Ramsey Clark, Attorney General in the Johnson administration, who wrote an eye opening book “The Fire This Time” about the first Iraq War, is active now working for impeachment. Paul Craig Roberts, former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under Reagan has written forcefully that we need to impeach. On the Bill Moyers show, John Nichols of the Nation and Bruce Fein also from the Reagan administration together argued for impeachment. The Nation presents ‘uncensored’ news in a progressive sensible manner. Keith Olberman has been beautifully vocerifous in his political commentary. Pete Seeger has renewed his passionate use of folk music to inspire. The Dixie Chicks have stayed true to their beliefs. Bruce Springstein sings about “things happening here that shouldn’t happen here”. Neil Young sings, “Don’t need no more lies.” Cindy Sheehan who lost her son in the Iraq War, asked “why?”, as a concerned mother, and has become a true grass roots leader. Medea Benjamin, co-founder of Code Pink entered the halls of Congress as a citizen activist and has been exercising her freedoms of speech. Desiree Fairooz, also of Code Pink has confronted Condi Rice for her criminal role in the deaths of thousands. David Swanson founded the site AfterDowningStreet, and Tom Feeley founded the site Information Clearing House. Debra Sweet and World Can’t Wait organize to save our country. Robert Greenwald’s Brave New Films is making valuable videos and films to help save our nation. Coleen Rowley, family, and friends are active in the Twin Cities vigiling with “DON”T BOMB IRAN” banners. Noami Wolfe has written a historical review of how democratic countries turn dictatorial. Her book “The End of America” is a call to action like Tom Paine’s Common Sense. These voices of reasoned dissent all want those still silent to speak out and help us save our country and planet. Please do, please speak out “¦ have the courage to spread the message”¦.let us together save our country and our planet.
Participants and Credits in the Twin Oaks Progressive House Burn
Owner: Robert Palmer Manager: Bruce Berry Spiritualist: Jennifer Umolac
Property preparation for burn: Larrie Knudsen, Mark Palmer (brother of owner),
Kevin Palmer (son of owner), Robert Palmer
Artists John Grider, Isaac Arvold, Larry Thorin, Bruce Berry, Robert Palmer
Painting Helpers: Jo Schubert, Roger Cuthbertson, Doug Drews, and Ted Coggins
Landscaping: Mark Palmer, and Kevin Palmer
Photographers: John Grider, Bruce Berry, Jennifer Umolac, Jo Schubert, Roger Cuthbertson, Greg Skog, Kay Hansen, and Robert Palmer III (son of owner).
Technical Support: Paul Linnebach, Mike McIntee, Robert Palmer III, Carlee Wright
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