ON ELECTION DAY 2000, Greenwich Village artists Peter and Lisa Cunningham travelled from New York to Philadelphia dressed in decorated sandwich boards urging people to vote.

Encouraged by the illusion that their small effort actually carried the swing state of Pennsylvania for Gore, they fell despondent a month later when it became clear that more sandwich boards were needed to carry the entire country. One morning a year later, they watched a commercial airlineer buzz their roof as it careened toward the large office building out their south window. The neighborhood mourned and rallied around the sentiment that "Our Grief is not a Cry for War"; Lisa became a chef in the Salvation Army kitchen at Ground Zero where the rescue workers cried for vengeance. The Republican leadership rallied around the latter sentiment, then in quick succession came the "War on Terror", the "War in Afghanistan", and "Operation Iraqi Freedom".

It seemed popular language had been coopted by fanatics; language no longer meant what it said, yet it was taken at face value and trumpeted far and wide on major megaphones.

South Ferry 04-5-03



At protest marches in Washington, New York, and San Francisco in late '02 and early '03, the language on display, while sometimes clever, was often just angry and nostalgic; it failed to expand awareness of a larger view; there was even a certain intolerance among peace marchers with differing opinions. In addition, the signs generally placed exclusive blame on the aggressive American administration rather than seeing their actions as part of a larger dynamic that includes forces represented by Saddam, Bin Laden, Kim and others.

So once again Lisa and Peter (aka: "The Brilliantos") decided to set the world straight.

Lisa says, "We began by hosting a sign painting party for a New York peace march. We gave away 35 large posters to strangers, and then we got carried away." Peter culled ideas for signs from the marches in Washington, New York, and San Francisco while devising some of his own, and Lisa painted the phrases. Peter then roamed the city with armfuls of signs searching for resonant contexts to make photographs of the signs.

"We realized that postcards can be a political weapon, they're just like protest signs, public assertions of belief, sound-bites designed to provoke thought and jog opinion. We want ours to speak the truth as we see it while encompassing a sense of humanity. At the same time have to be fun; they're not only for Birkenstock marchers, but they're for people in high heels too."

"Look carefully at the photos," Lisa says. "Peter is very interested in context, the photographed signs are in front of banks, pillars of justice, institutions of culture, historic landmarks, city skylines, crowds of protesters, lines of cops, a law school, a television, a trash can, a crying American eagle; the contexts define and enrich the signs."

Peter says, "Although it sometimes feels like we're just spitting into the wind, our true aim is to introduce new language into the culture, language that embraces values which bridge the deep divisions infecting our political environment. We also aim to create vehicles for expression of handmade dissent in a world increasingly dominated by corporate mass production and mass media."


In May of 2003, 34 postcards were published by "FREE EXPRESSION UnLtd", they are available in very few local stores but can be obtained from Image Connection at 1-800-227-8178.


About the Artists:
Peter Cunningham is a photographer in NYC who has worked with some of the world's most famous actors, musicians, and writers. He creates with Lisa, an art-form called STILL FILM, in which still photographs are projected across three large screens. Lilypond (Lisa Cunningham) is a musician, artist, and theater critic in NYC.


see the Free Expression movie
More information about Peter Cunningham can be found at : wordwiseweb.com / email
order postcards by email from Image Connection, call 1-800-227-8178