Just when you thought you might shoot yourself between the eyes for having to endure one more family photograph on a holiday card, we discover a perfect palate cleanser with the annual Christmas greetings from sculpture artist James Shefik, one of this year's winners of the Masterminds Grants.
This year's edition is a doozy. Entitled Civilly Disobedient, it's a depiction of the sickening Occupy Davis pepper spray incident using Playmobil, those toy figurines often mistaken as an extension of the Lego brand. It's the sixth in an annual series that began with Santa spreading 'em for TSA airport cops as one of his reindeer goes through the metal detector. Other cheerful themes for the cards have included drunken (sleigh) driving, executive bailout, and health care. This year's, however, is particularly brutal.
"On the inside of the card," Shefik reveals, "I wrote, 'All he wanted was some milk and cookies.' Thanks, Suicidal Tendencies!"
Sociopolitical affairs are a specialty of Shefik's "real" work, but instead of plastic, his typical media are paint and wood, building upon years of working on film and television sets. (Still, he did a tremendous job of translating the Davis officer's callousness into Playmobil form.)
"They are a ton of fun to make," affirms Shefik of his Christmas cards. "And so fast, unlike my sculpture."
Click through to see the others.
