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Veteran Bay Area artist Al Farrow talks about his provocative works of art that are made from guns and ammunition, and convey strong anti-war messages.Farrow didn’t go to art school, and trained himself as designer, sculptor, welder, machinist and chemist. In his “Divine Ammunition” series, his subjects range from America’s nuclear bomber, the Enola Gay, to religious buildings and icons that express his strong feelings about the role of religions in wars.
One of the creations we talk about is this Menorah, made with pistols, bullets and the vertical part, a machine gun barrel. You can see more at his website, here.
I first learned of Al Farrow recently, in a visit to the DiRosa Art Preserve near Napa, California. In this conversation, we talk about Rene DiRosa, who collected works by Bay Area artists from the 1970’s to 1990’s. We mention Robert Arneson, who created this controversial rendering of George Moscone, who was assassinated while serving as San Francisco mayor.
Farrow isn’t mean, but his comments on DiRosa (who insulted Farrow by haggling about price) and Arneson are quite candid.
Just a few days later, I saw one of Farrow’s creations at the Catharine Clark gallery in San Francisco. When I found out that Farrow’s studio is near my own secret studio, I decided to pay him a visit and record this conversation.
Farrow’s current project is a depiction of the Trump White House, and he tells us it won’t be white….more in the orange zone.