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Mission Accomplished, 2007
Steel, acrylic, polyurethane, magnets and squeakers
60 x 80 x 2½ in (152.5 x 203x 6 cm)
© Bill Kleiman
Mission Accomplished
In this piece, commissioned for the home of collector Lulu Schwarz, hollow, flexible, squeak-toy/refrigerator-magnet-like polyurethane tiles, hand-cast by the artist, are magnetically adhered to black steel sheeting to form a traditional Arabian-style geometric design. Green acrylic text, floating in front of the tiles, reads as the phrase “Mission Accomplished,” as translated into Arabic.
The wall design merges the colors of the American flag with the red, white, green and black present in the flags of many Arab nations. Blue stars-of-David are nested within and integral to the wall’s geometry.
The piece cheerfully explores the sometimes uncomfortable and paranoid relationship between Americans and the Middle East while examining the very human desire to tinker with things that confound or amuse us.