Virtus: Virginia's Seal, 2004

This project is a visual and verbal investigation of the graphic violence depicted in the Virginia State Seal. The official state seal shows a female figure (Virtus) standing on top of and in victory over a male figure (Tyrannus). I first encountered the seal many years ago when I worked in Fairfax, VA and I distinctly remember being struck by the violence it represented. The motto that accompanies the seal is in Latin: Sic Semper Tyrannis (Thus Always to Tyrants). I wonder how it is that a state (or any community) chooses to symbolize itself through the glorification of one person's oppression over another.

In this project I had several goals.

First, to expose and make more explicit the violence and the sexuality (implied by her exposed left breast,) by reinventing the language of the seal. The state seal was adopted in 1776, and its design has not changed much since. It is this kind of archaic visual language that allows for the seal's violence to go unnoticed. I created an action figure and packaging where the battle between Virtus and Tyrannus (not evident in the original seal) is brought to the foreground of the imagery. The battle has already transpired, as made evident by the collectable "Tyrannis parts" (in this prototype: the remains of my old GI Joe doll).

This project presented an opportunity to explore the relationship of the arrow (as seen in The Last Diversion) to the figure. The arrow is a sign for fighting. It represents the weapon and the individual. The first image below is an abstraction of the seal's language. It represents the exploratory stage necessary for me to reach a language of satire and illustration.