The Perfect Mother's Day Gift

            The R.P. is torn as to what he should write about this week.  The Recent Paterfamilias has a new personal art collection acquisition.  But the R.P. also wants to vent his concerns about his quest for the perfect Mother’s Day present. 

            Well, as it turns out, today the R.P. found (or rather, put together) what he suspects is the perfect Mother’s Day gift for the mother of his offspring, but he is afraid, should he write about such gift (the conception, the hunt, and the entire experience), that the wife of the Recent Paterfamilias might very well read about all of it on this very same blog column, which might very likely ruin any and all surprise on a certain mother’s first Mother’s Day. 

            So, I suppose that leaves me little option except penning a missive concerning my new acquisition (see: inset photo). 

            It’s art.  It’s pop art.  It’s folk art.  It’s modern art.  It’s provocative and interpretive and even somewhat inquisitive. 

            But what I’m most curious about are the interpretive aspects of aforementioned artwork (see: inset photo). 

            The artist, to whom I spoke upon purchase, a certain Andrew Cotton, who is part of an artist collective called “Art Moves” (they pedal their goods from a fashioned bread truck—they have Jay-Z screen prints on plywood which are pretty effing awesome), told me what he thought his work might mean.  The piece had been treated with copper so that eventually the copper would spread and the work would change as it aged.  The artist said it was kind of a statement on how the empire was deteriorating.  

            Naturally, this is all valid (see: inset photo).  

            But, naturally, this Recent Paterfamilias sees it differently. 

            This Recent Paterfamilias thinks the piece looks like a battered Revolutionary War flag (with a few more stars, of course).  This R.P. thinks it sort of represents a country that’s not perfect, but that’s still standing.  And this Recent Paterfamilias really likes how this work mirrors pop art and folk art and, more vaguely, the work of Jasper Johns. 

            Also, the Recent Paterfamilias thinks his new flag looks rather nice across the room from his American folk art convex Federalist mirror.  Sort of an exact but equal sort of thing. 

            So, all things considered, this R.P. is rather more than pleased with his recent acquisition. 

            (It should also be noted that the other piece of artwork featured—a sketch of a Wire Hair Fox Terrier named Oscar—is by the artist Greg Voth.)