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Weatherboard #10, 1997 by Tetman Callis (2 ft. x 2 ft.; acrylic on wood)
Keeping it realKeeping it real
“If a man writes clearly enough any one can see if he fakes. If he mystifies to avoid a straight statement, which is very different from breaking so-called rules of syntax or grammar to make an effect which can be obtained in no other way, the writer takes a longer time to be known as a fake and other writers who are afflicted by the same necessity will praise him in their own defense. True mysticism should not be confused with incompetence in writing which seeks to mystify where there is no mystery but is really only the necessity to fake to cover lack of knowledge or the inability to state clearly. Mysticism implies a mystery and there are many mysteries; but incompetence is not one of them; nor is overwritten journalism made literature by the injection of a false epic quality.” – Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon
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Weatherboard #9, 1997 by Tetman Callis (2 ft. x 2 ft.; acrylic on wood)
What security, indeedWhat security, indeed
“I ask you what confidence you would have in a Court thus constituted—a Court composed of partisan Judges, appointed on political grounds, selected with a view to the decision of questions in a particular way, and pledged in regard to a decision before the argument, and without reference to the peculiar state of the facts. Would such a Court command the respect of the country? If the Republican party cannot trust Democratic Judges, how can they expect us to trust Republican Judges, when they have been selected in advance for the purpose of packing a decision in the event of a case arising? My fellow-citizens, whenever partisan politics shall be carried on to the bench; whenever the Judges shall be arraigned upon the stump, and their judicial conduct reviewed in town meetings and caucuses; whenever the independence and integrity of the judiciary shall be tampered with to the extent of rendering them partial, blind and suppliant tools, what security will you have for your rights and your liberties?” — Senator Stephen A. Douglas, 1858
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Weatherboard #5, 1995 by Tetman Callis (2 ft. x 2 ft.; acrylic and wood putty on wood)
But we won’tBut we won’t
“There is not one human problem that could not be solved if people would simply do as I advise.” — Gore Vidal
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Weatherboard #4, 1995 by Tetman Callis (2 ft. x 2 ft.; acrylic and wood putty on wood)
Surf’s up!Surf’s up!
“A feeling of doom can be productive, if you know how to surf it.” – Victor Lodato, “P.E.”
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Weatherboard #3, 1994 by Tetman Callis (48 in. x 24 in.; acrylic and wood putty on wood)
Gotta start someplaceGotta start someplace
“It is fair that each man shall pay taxes in exact proportion to the value of his property; but if we should wait before collecting a tax to adjust the taxes upon each man in exact proportion with every other man, we should never collect any tax at all.” – Abraham Lincoln, “Speech to the 164th Ohio Regiment”
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VLA, 1993 by Tetman Callis (16 in. by 32 in.; mixed media–photographs, cardboard, water-soluble glue, and nylon thread on rag board)
Not looking to need thisNot looking to need this
“Nothing justifies the suspending of the civil by the military authority, but military necessity, and of the existence of that necessity the military commander, and not a popular vote, is to decide. And whatever is not within such necessity should be left undisturbed.” – Abraham Lincoln, “To Benjamin F. Butler, August 9, 1864″
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Truly Portable Quick Meal Magic, 2001 by Tetman Callis (32 in. by 48 in.; mixed media–paper, acrylic, and glass on primed canvas)
Hold me, LordHold me, Lord
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQeSKqKF7qQ
Fill ‘er up!Fill ‘er up!
“Envy is the gasoline on which American capitalism runs.” – John Lahr, “Lives in Limbo”
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The Tiny Prefix Language, 1999 by Tetman Callis (about 32 in. by 48 in.; mixed media–paper, acrylic, and plastic on canvas)
Free variationsFree variations
“We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor.” – Abraham Lincoln, “Address at Sanitary Fair, Baltimore, Maryland, 1864″ (emphasis in original)
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Template III of the Four Templates of Paradise, 1995 by Tetman Callis (2 ft. by 2 ft. with sharp rusty projections; mixed media–paper, tin, and sawdust on wood)
After you, my dear AlphonseAfter you, my dear Alphonse
“The advice of a father to his son, ‘Beware of entrance to a quarrel, but being in, bear it that the opposed may beware of thee,’ is good, and yet not the best. Quarrel not at all. No man resolved to make the most of himself can spare time for personal contention. Still less can he afford to take all the consequences, including the vitiating of his temper and the loss of self-control. Yield larger things to which you can show no more than equal right; and yield lesser ones, though clearly your own. Better give your path to a dog, than be bitten by him in contesting for the right. Even killing the dog would not cure the bite.” – Abraham Lincoln, “Letter to James M. Cutts, Jr.”
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Template II of the Four Templates of Paradise, 1995 by Tetman Callis (about two foot square and four inches high; mixed media–wood, glass, and acrylic)
Not in the power of the parties, eitherNot in the power of the parties, either
“It is not always in the power of governments to enlarge or restrict the scope of moral results which follow the policies that they may deem it necessary for the public safety, from time to time, to adopt.” – Abraham Lincoln, “To the Workingmen of Manchester, England”
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Sun, Bringer of Life, 2002 by Tetman Callis (about 32 in. by 48 in.; mixed media–acrylic and cotton on primed canvas)
Justly shore ’em upJustly shore ’em up
“That Congress has the power to regulate the currency of the country can hardly admit of doubt; and that a judicious measure to prevent the deterioration of this currency, by a reasonable taxation of bank circulation or otherwise if needed, seems equally clear. Independently of this general consideration, it would be unjust to the people at large to exempt banks, enjoying the special privilege of circulation, from their just proportion of the public burden.” – Abraham Lincoln, “To the Senate and House of Representatives”
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Stapled #2, 1998 by Tetman Callis (about 8 in. by about 6 in.; mixed media–flowers stapled to rag board and mounted in a box)
The choice is clearThe choice is clear
“It is not the qualified voters, but the qualified voters who choose to vote, that constitute the political power of the state.” – Abraham Lincoln, “Opinion on Admission of West Virginia into the Union” (emphasis in original)
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Stapled #1, 1998 by Tetman Callis (about 8 in. by about 6 in.; mixed media–flowers stapled to rag board and mounted in a box)
The Tiny Toy TrainThe Tiny Toy Train
My most recent published story, “The Tiny Toy Train,” is available at Snow Monkey
Hearing The CallHearing The Call
Here’s to you. Let the day begin
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Slats, 1998 by Tetman Callis (about 3 ft. by 4 ft.; mixed media–wood and cardboard on primed canvas)
A code of conductA code of conduct
“One of the few rules I live by: Never, ever fuck with the people handling your food.” — ravingmadscientists (comment posted to “I Hate People WHen THey’re Not Polite,” on Betsy Lerner’s The Forest for the Trees)