Bush-T.org came about at dinner in mid May with close friends from Chile who have lived, worked, and studied in the US, and feel that this country is a second home. They are both artists, as we are. We were having a conversation about politics, changes in the world, the war in Iraq, the Bush administration, et al. We agreed about many things, but our small contributions and going to demonstrations both here and in Santiago didn’t match the fervor of our beliefs.

Mario happened to pull out a brilliant political cartoon by one of his students, Sebastian Piel, that had been published in "El Mercurio", and I saw both a t-shirt and a way for us to make a bigger difference. Sebastian donated his drawing to the cause, and we donated our time and seed money. Bush-T.org was born.

Art is many things, often loud, sometimes provocative, but most of all, it is unique in its power to not only stimulate different meanings and reactions in individuals of disparate backgrounds and cultures, but also to speak a universal language that expresses common human experience.

Sebastian Piel's cartoon is an expression of why Chile, Latin America's stablest, most economically viable democracy, refused to join the United States against Iraq, a decision for which they have paid dearly in the revocation of certain favorable import taxes and other trade sanctions. He is showing us a perspective that we in America rarely see.

The drawing speaks of doubts many people have about the real reasons we went to war. It stirs questions about Bush/Cheney's financial relationships to big oil, its energy slanted approach to eco-conservation, questions their casual willingness to trade blood for oil, and reminds us of the rest of the world's cliched picture of the Ugly American rather than the beacon of hope we have often been. It illustrates America's apparent arrogance and the Bush administration's denigrating disrespect for our friends, allies and the world community.

It is a very powerful image.

As artists we feel this image can both make people laugh and jolt them into thinking about what's happening in the world. One more slogan t-shirt seems redundant. An artists' beautifully drawn point of view is new.

We believe spreading a message for change and clear thinking will take money and must be done in creative ways. At Bush-T.org we are working to accomplish that end by providing extensive but concise information on what the Bush administration is up to through links to organizations, activist groups, and articles on a variety of issues by journalists from here and around the world, economists, politicians, scientists, generals, et al, on our web site, and are using Sebastian's drawing to raise money for MoveOn.org and Operation Truth.org, organizations we all admire.

MoveOn.org reflects our views. They represent the interests of common citizens rather than special interest groups. We believe they are the best model for the future of progressive politics. Win, lose or draw, MoveOn.org will spend any contributions well.

Operation Truth is a great new organization started by veterans and furloughed active military men to educate the public about soldiers' issues, to give soldiers a voice in affairs that concern them specifically, and to promote those issues in Congress. We all know our military deserves our best both during and after their service. Much needs to be done to get them the benefits they deserve.

With four more years of uphill battle on all fronts looming in the face of this so called mandate, the Democratic Party will need funding to keep redefining itself and the issues. MoveOn will continue to need funds to keep informing and growing the base. Regime change at home in the midterm elections is the first step. We have 30 plus years of right wing organization to overcome before we can rest. Soldiers will be coming home, some maimed, all changed. They will need our help, too. As will the next wave of recuits and the waves after that,

The site will continue being updated. New T-shirts and other items will be introduced as we can afford to produce them. So keep coming back.

Alida W. Morgan

 

Alida Morgan is a New York painter. After college she was an assistant to Diana Vreeland at the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute before becoming an editor at Harper's Bazaar. She later co-founded a store specializing in young American fashion and accessories in Washington, D.C., and continued to work in fashion and design in New York and Europe. She has devoted the past fifteen years to her painting and art furniture as well as working with ruanaways and the homeless. Her first presidential campaign experience was at the age of two on the back of a campaign train with her grandfather, Averell Harriman, who ran for the Democratic nomination for President, later supporting Adlai Stevenson in 1952.

Dr. Stephen is a physician and faculty member at the University of California Medical School in San Francisco. In an earlier career, he was a professional songwriter, with both work recorded by several artists and for network television. During the last ten years, he has split his time caring for the mentally ill, homeless, and incarcerated in San Francisco while continuing his music and other artistic endeavors. He is currently working on socially conscious rock 'n roll.

Mario Toral is one of Latin America's premiere artists. His work is in museums throughout the world. He began his career as Pablo Neruda's illustrator, frequently lectures both here and around the world on Neruda, and is the director and founder of an art school in Santiago, Chile. His murals of the history of Chile were commissioned by the state for the Millenium and grace Santiago's Central Train Station. He is currently working on a large black and white reproduction of Guernica with contemporary text additions as well as an autobiography that dwells on his and Neruda's relationship to each other and to art and artists.

Andrea Hegeman Toral is a textile designer and sculptor whose last show in Santiago was her witty version of Velasquez's Las Meninas in ceramic, welding and fabric at the Praxis gallery.

Sebastian Piel Bergeret is a highly accomplished twenty seven year old art and film student from Chile. He currently lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His work appears every Sunday in Joe Black's column in El Mercurio.