Artwork Title: detail of

detail of , 2013

Deb Sokolow

Part truth, part fiction, and part comedy, Deb Sokolow’s complex visual tales are based on well-researched facts expanded by the fantastical mind of the narrator, who the artist identifies as “you,” making the reader/viewer an active participant in the almost-convincing events. The author of this story (...only referred to as “you” throughout the narrative) is a naïve campaign worker who becomes increasingly concerned about the behavior of the candidate, Jim Jones, and the campaign’s questionable tactics used to secure a win in an upcoming U.S. Congressional election. The story is fiction, but the character of the candidate, Jim Jones, is based on real-life People’s Temple cult leader Jim Jones, the mind control tactics he used on his followers and the great lengths he went to in order to exert influence over politicians and others in California in the 1960s and 1970s. Also, a fictional, illusion-making campaign consultant featured in the story, named David Copperfield, will be loosely based on the real-life master illusionist, David Copperfield.
9 x 6 x 1 in

Arthur is a
Digital Museum