This weekend is your last chance to see Fred Harper’s humorous
parade of caricatures in the "Burning Bush" show, now
on display at the DUMBO General Store [111 Front St. at Washington
Street, (718) 855-5288].
It is appropriate that the coffee bar/watering hole for the
neighborhood’s creative types – whether they’re craving caffeine,
booze or a salad – is the venue around which Harper’s stinging,
satirical works hang, including "Bush of Arabia" (pictured),
the cover illustration for the Feb. 28, 2003 issue of The Week
magazine.
The editorial illustrations, painted between 2001-2004, "represent
the point of view of those publications and not always my own,"
explains Harper in an artist’s statement. Whether those statements
include the Statue of Liberty trying out a set of breast implants
or President George Bush as a taxi driver, turning his head to
the passenger to demand a fare of $87 million [the cost of additional
funding for the war in Iraq], they generally hit their target.
"Burning Bush" is on display through March 15, Saturday
and Sunday, 9 am-5 pm, and Monday, 8 am-6 pm.
