An Artful Instrument of Death

Hi All,

Recently I had the opportunity to photograph a gun collection. This is a Taurus 44 Magnum revolver. I shot it with with a Fuji W3 stereo camera, on an off-white sheet as backdrop, and used frame sides for phantogram processing.

Guns, like many functional engineered products can have exceptional beauty. Many people collect guns. Guns are fun to shoot, and one can gain skill and confidence in target shooting. Arguably possessing and/or carrying a gun might make you safer, but I'm not convinced of this. Aside from being seen as art objects, for protection, or gaining skills, to my knowledge the primary purposes of guns are to threaten, maim or kill people or animals. I choose not to own one.

I've often felt that our president's fascination with and attraction to the world's dictators is their raw undisputable power, and specifically their ability to order the deaths of their enemies. History is thick and rotten with such leaders, and current ones include Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-un, Rodrigo Duerte, Mohammad bin Salman, and Xi Jenping, all admired and embraced by Trump.

So now Trump has gotten in his chops, having just a week ago ordered up the successful assassination of Qasem Soleimani in Iraq, as well as a failed attempt on Abdul Reza Shahlai (another Quds force commander) in Yemen.

"Assassins" can now be added to Trump's America's emerging reputation on the world stage. What must if feel like for him to use that power? Will it leave him hungry for more?

Barry Rothstein

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