artfux Headless Leader, 1990’s

A great image by the collaborative group Artfux founded in 1990. This work was most likely influenced by one of the founders Ray Arcadio. From his website the following; To artist Ray Aracdio, Occupy Wall Street is the epitome of American freedom. It’s about time, he said, that workers challenge corporations. The “headless leaders” have control, which should be with everyone else, said Arcadio, a North Bergen resident. “Our government’s subsidizing of corporations with tax payer dollars has been like a stab in the heart of every hard working citizen and OWS is the blood seeping from the wound that our headless leaders has inflicted on us.” He took the image of a ‘headless leader’ to signify the elite group making decisions that do not line up with the rest of society. The piece is titled “Headless Leaders” and it is a symbol representing the ineffectiveness of the elected or appointed leaders of our country. It is an oil on canvas painting. It depicts a headless figure in a business suit wearing an American flag pin. The image is one that he created when he founded an art collaborative called Artfux. The group emerged as a reaction to the government’s cutting of art funds but went on to protest cigarette corporations by modifying their tobacco ads on billboards that were located in poor neighborhoods and near schools, he said. The group also protested the first Iraq war as well as the happenings on Wall Street. “When OWS began, I knew I had to participate in some way again so I made the painting in support of the protesters. I logged onto their website and sent them the image,” he said. Arcadio’s art mostly deals with social issues meant to stir conversation and to make a statement. “I like to say that it’s about people’s necessity to go to extremes with their beauty, beliefs or expression. I’m fascinated by the physical manifestation of these extremes. I believe Art must say something. It should not just match the couch, it must exist as a tool for social consciousness and awareness, to stir emotions, educate, inform, shed light, start conversations and even protest.” Arcadio earned his bachelor’s degree from New Jersey City University, and since has shown his work around the country, including at the Jersey City Museum.