Dedicated to critical cultural production at the intersection of art and activism.

We cover artists from around the globe whose work explores and realizes social change. Our goal is to provide a narrative about these activist efforts while simultaneously participating in them. Maintained by The Groundswell Collective since 2007.

Radical Ornaments: Deborah Lawrence’s Tiff with the White House

James David Morgan wrote this post at 11:40 am on December 5th, 2008.

In a subversive turn of craft, Deborah Lawrence responded to an offer to design a Christmas ornament for the White House by submitting a design that

honored the radical history of Washington State including Jim McDermott’s support for impeachment, [anti-]WTO [activism], and the Seattle General Strike of 1919, in tiny writing that weaves through a stripy design.

Deborah Lawrence with her ornament

The ornament hung amidst several hundred others until the ornament’s  subversive statements were brought to national attention by the Washington Post.  She was subsequently censured from the White House Christmas Tree, on orders from the First Lady herself, and branded an “evil, maniacal artist” by the conservative crowd.

Around here, though, she gets a round of applause. Here is the artist in her own words.

Via

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