People Vs. The State: Class Warfare Chess

2004. Cast bronze, recovered wood, plywood, acrylic paint, and a dream of crushing The Man. 23 3/4" x 23 3/4" x 46 1/2" The table is not for sale, but the pieces are available for $4,999.95 plus $49.99 for shipping. Click here if you want this piece.

This is, to date, my most complex, and certainly most time-consuming art project. In retrospect, the table could have been sturdier. This project was to turn the concept of chess on its head. Normally, a lot of players will flippantly sacrifice pawns, believing them to be nearly valueless. Indeed, the average pawn has a great many limitations imposed by his class. My pawns have had the shit kicked out of them for nearly a millennium... and payback's a bitch. Standing in pools of their cold blood, and bearing the brutal wounds taken for their kings, these pawns have decided to band together in rebellion. They are represented in white, with the callous ranking pieces donning sleek black skins. This is to represent purity versus evil, not race. I believe there are two good ways to set up the board: with the pawns facing the ranking pieces, as a traditional battle would take place, or the other, more subversive idea, involving arranging the pieces in the normal arrangement, with the pawns rebelling against their evil masters by surprise. This compliments how white traditionally goes first: rebels have the initiative. I also believe pawns should move at least as well as kings, once stripped of their title's restrictions. For one who seeks his own destiny, anything is possible. Theoretically, the rebels have some sizable advantage, as their defeat includes the obliteration of eight times the number required to take down the haves. This piece is just a little liberal.