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Michael Drake
Michael Drake's work brings to light a familiar American story often mythologized by literature, advertisements, and film. Drake's work recalls the work of '60s pop artists like Ed Ruscha, Robert Rauschenberg, and Barbara Kruger in its appropriation of mass-culture images and advertisements. Drake juxtaposes disparate cultural artifacts, vintage ads, news headlines, etc. His images often evoke spontaneous travel, the freedom and curiosity of the open road, and an eager longing for a vanished past. The role of text in Drake's work adds another dimension to each piece and forces the viewer to create meaning out of not only what is being seen, but also what is being read. In this way each piece remains cloaked in mystery and their meaning, much like our own personal story of America, is left for us to create.
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