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It's Not Just a Job, It's an Occupation, Part I

Appalled by news of the Bush administration�s plans for a palatial U.S. embassy in war-torn Iraq, Susan Hamburger's response was a pun-filled site-specific installation that transformed Cheryl McGinnis Gallery into a faux late-18th century style �embassy� room. With a sardonic look at U.S.-Iraqi politics, she presented two large-scale panels entitled, �It�s Not Just A Job, It�s An Occupation, Parts I & II.� Using the Croome Court Tapestry room at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as a template, these works address cultural imperialism and government power and corruption within the framework of lushly painted Rococo imagery.

Mural Detail

Included in the installation, �The Cabinet� is a trompe l�oiel dinnerware set drawn in ink on paper and based on one of Spode�s Imperialware motifs. Housed in a foam board cabinet, the collection portrays members of the Bush administration as of August 2006. Period elements, such as wainscoting and crown moldings, also made of foam board, tie together the installation.

In �Part I,� the original medallions based on Boucher�s paintings of the elements are replaced by two of Saddam Hussein�s overthrown palaces as Bush, Cheney and Rove cherubs hover around a vase painted with the dictator�s likeness; �Part II,� features the new U.S. embassy under construction.

The Cabinet