A Portrait of Dick Cheney, Who Bears a Striking Resemblance to My Father
On September 11, 2010, we created a large-scale portrait of Dick Cheney in Houston, Texas by walking a course of GPS coordinates with a group of participants. For the eight years of his term, Marni's father repeatedly was mistaken for Vice President Dick Cheney. He would come home angry and upset when someone would comment at his striking resemblance to someone whose political beliefs were so far from his own ethos. Yet, he too prospered from the corporate economic boom of the eighties, moving us into a large subdivision owned by one of the major US oil companies, as he moved up the ladder of his Big Six corporation.
Cheney was chairman and CEO of Halliburton Company in Houston from 1995 to 2000, leaving the company to join George W. Bush's presidential ticket. Many scholars assert that Cheney changed the nature of the Vice-Presidency, assuming a more direct role in shaping policy, and in particular, the Bush Administration's pursuit of the "War on Terror" and the definition of torture. As we walk this portrait through the city streets of Houston, we think of the cultural conditions of the country and its urban centers, and the implications of corporate culture on the politics of our country.
Produced for the exhibition CREATED AND FOUND MAPS at the Houston Center for Photography, 2010 . Curated by Frazier King.
