Michael Barnes: the Malignant Arsenal & Other Recent Developments February 3, 2009

Michael Barnes, a lithographer, uses the eighteenth-century technique of plate-printing to address modern political concerns in his series 'Malignant Arsenal.' 'On display in the Merwin gallery, his images feature various weaponry formed by tumors and growths the artist has described as "grotesque" and a "commentary on past, current, and, certainly, future use and misuse of power." By depicting a historical range of inherently violent objects in states of sickness and decay, Barnes illustrates "how human nature and the quest for power have not changed over time."