“It is easier to denature plutonium than to denature the evil spirit of man,” said Albert Einstein, the physicist whose breakthroughs helped lead to the development of the atomic bomb. Though eras are often distinguished by their philosophic and artistic movements, they could just as easily be separated by their killing tools and methods of warfare. Cultures around the world have passed down prophecies of a battle that will begin the end of days. These myths developed long before the existence of the efficient killing machines available today. While mankind has proved itself proficient at making weapons out of anything, few people have attempted to turn weapons into art.

Mixed Media assemblage artist Krystopher Sapp’s “Our Guns Never Tire” is a meditation on human violence throughout history, and the ghosts and heroes it creates. Krystopher’s assemblages stand as warped altars of destructive human impulses. Many pieces in the show, currently on display at Congregation Gallery in Los Angeles, incorporate real machine guns, rifles, even live grenades. The grim juxtaposition of atrocities with Baroque flourishes creates a poignant show that is Krystopher’s finest work to date.

The Micro-dystopias that form “Our Guns Never Tire” illustrate man’s complex relationship with war.

“I wanted to show the heroism,” Krystopher maintains, “but also show the ugliness of violence.”

“I wanted to do something different with my work, and then I just started daydreaming,” he continues, “of what a piece might look like if I used real tools designed with the sole purpose of killing or maiming my fellow man. As for getting my hands on the tools of the trade in killing, well let’s put it this way –I`LL NEVER TELL–.”

Krystopher endeavors to transform trivial ephemera and hardware into enduring art. His visual references include war history books and horror and science fiction films.

Krystopher describes his process as trial and error. “Experiment, experiment,” he says, “that’s what I do best when planning a piece. Sometimes I`ll doodle out a very rough sketch of what it might be. From start to finish things change. Certain pieces I thought might work don`t, and other pieces seem to fit seamlessly.”

This show was especially trying for Krystopher. The challenge with the smaller pieces was not working with parts so small that the scene was invisible. And it was hard editing the bigger pieces so that they were not filled with so many parts that they were cluttered. “Plus,” Krystopher said, “money was incredibly tight, so I had to scavenge for parts and even paint to bring life into some of the pieces.”

Not only was money tight, but time was too. The signature, monochromatic look of the show came about in part due to time constraints. Krystopher was inspired by paint and staining techniques he used while working as a furniture designer. By reducing the color in each piece, he could complete enough for a solo show. Krystopher is satisfied with this choice because he says, “the almost muted tones bring a sort of sadness to the work as if time has been frozen, and there is a story waiting to be told.”

Krystopher envisioned Voyage of the Damned (above) as symbolic for the Holocaust. “The clowns, bear heads, and stripes just show how screwed up the piece really is and you have to view it much more to see the true horrors that await,” he said.

Ragnarok (above) comes from the Norse armageddon myth that foresees the fall of Gods and men. The Norse concept of paradise, Valhalla, has men living as warriors fighting each other every day for eternity and being constantly resurrected.

To see more of Our Guns Never Tire, visit the Congregation Gallery in Los Angeles or go to their website.

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 3rd, 2011 at 3:04 pm and is filed under Art, Interviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.