SHOOT PORTRAITS
NOT PEOPLE

SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE

BY JASON SIEGEL

RECYCLED CAMERA EQUIPMENT BECOMES HIGH-POWERED WEAPONRY IN A SERIES OF ANTI-VIOLENCE ART INSTALLATIONS

JASON SIEGEL'S INNOVATIVE SCULPTURAL ART INSTALLATION, SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE INCLUDES SNIPER RIFLES, UZIS, CLAYMORE MINES, AND EVEN A 1947 WILLYS JEEP IN A JARRING AND IMMERSIVE DISPLAY OF MILITARY PARAPHERNALIA. UPON CLOSER INSPECTION OF THESE PROVOCATIVE PIECES, WE BEGIN TO FIND LENSES DISGUISED AS GRENADES, TRIPOD LEGS IN PLACE OF GUN BARRELS, PHOTO WINDERS AS TRIGGERS AND FILM CANISTERS STRUNG TOGETHER AS AMMUNITION BELTS. DOG TAGS ATTACHED TO EACH SCULPTURE SERVE AS BOTH THE PRICE TAG AND THE CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY.

SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE USES RECYCLED CAMERA EQUIPMENT TO CREATE ANATOMICALLY CORRECT WEAPON SCULPTURE. THE FINAL PRODUCTS ARE INTERACTIVE AND POWERFUL INSTALLATIONS THAT COMMENT ON THE VIOLENT ABUSE OF THESE ARTFUL MACHINES, WHILE CLEVERLY EXPOSING THE SHARED VOCABULARY ASSOCIATED WITH PHOTOGRAPHY AND WEAPONRY.

CONCEPTED BY SIEGEL IN EARLY 2016, SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE STARTED OUT AS A PHOTO OF HIS PERSONAL CAMERA EQUIPMENT ORGANIZED IN THE SHAPE OF A RIFLE ON HIS LIVING ROOM FLOOR. WITH A VIRAL RESPONSE FROM HIS ONLINE FOLLOWING, SIEGEL SPENT THE REMAINDER OF THE YEAR ROUNDING UP RECYCLED CAMERA EQUIPMENT TO CREATE NEW DESIGNS. IN NOVEMBER 2016, SIEGEL MET WITH METAL WORKER, KEITH D'ANGELO TO TRANSFORM HIS FLAT LAYS INTO PHYSICAL SCULPTURE.

THE FIRST SERIES OF SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE DEBUTED AND QUICKLY SOLD OUT IN JANUARY 2017 AT THE BLK MKT IN ASPEN, COLORADO. THIS FIRST UNVEILING OF THE CONTROVERSIAL PROJECT WAS MET WITH MIXED RESPONSES FROM THE PUBLIC; THE ASPEN EXHIBIT WAS EVEN SUBJECT TO A POLICE INVESTIGATION ON THE SUSPICION THAT HIGH-POWERED WEAPONRY WAS BEING SOLD AT AN ART EXHIBIT. SINCE THE DEBUT, SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE HAS BEEN DEVELOPED INTO MULTIPLE SERIES, INCLUDING A SHOW AT EVOKE CONTEMPORARY (THE PREMIERE CONTEMPORARY GALLERY) IN SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO IN 2017, AND TWO MORE SHOWS IN ASPEN - ONE DURING THE 2018 X-GAMES AND ANOTHER AT BLK MKT 2018.

SINCE ITS CONCEPTION, SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE HAS GAINED EXCITED INTERNATIONAL ATTENTION FROM THE MEDIA, LARGE COLLECTORS, AND EVEN FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS, WITH CONTINUED MOMENTUM. IN OCTOBER OF 2018, D'ANGELO’S INVOLVEMENT WITH THE PROJECT CAME TO AN END. SINCE THEN, SIEGEL HAS CONTINUED TO GROW SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE ON HIS OWN.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE INVOLVE MORE INTERACTIVE DESIGNS, LARGER CHARITY COMPONENTS, AND GREATER COMMUNITY OUTREACH. SHOOT PORTRAITS NOT PEOPLE CONTINUES TO TRAVEL TO MAJOR ARTS DESTINATIONS, SHOWCASING THE THOUGHT-PROVOKING WORK ACROSS THE NATION.

FROM THE TIME OF CONCEPTION, ALL 15 LARGER SCALE SCULPTURES, INCLUDING THE JEEP, HAVE BEEN SOLD.  A HANDFUL OF GRENADES AND A SELECTION OF LIMITED EDITION PRINTS STILL REMAIN AVAILABLE UNTIL THE RELEASE OF THE NEXT SERIES.