Obama vs. Romney D&D Smack-Down at NYC Gallery
- 10.09.12
- 8:00 AM
Romnney as a D&D character “Lord Spelldyal”: A character sheet artwork by Casey Jex Smith (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)
Art can be political. Politics can affect art. Certainly the art world and politics can sometimes feel like a role-playing game.
But there are very few opportunities where art, politics and gaming truly intersect. This week, if you head to the Allegra LaViola Gallery in New York City to see Fiend in the Void, a solo exhibition of works on paper and sculpture by Casey Jex Smith, you’ll get a chance to see a Dungeons & Dragons clash of the titans between President Obama and Mitt Romney. The winner decides how the artist will cast his real-world vote in the real-world, 2012 presidential election.
The show’s opening reception, Wednesday, October 10th, from 6-8 pm, will feature a live performance — a battle, at it were, with dice.
“Two volunteers will take up the roles of Barack Obama and Mitt Romney and audience members will get to decide the fate of the election using Dungeons and Dragons dice, rules and attacks,” said the gallery. “Smith will act as Dungeon Master of the game, and the ultimate prize is his vote.”
The winner of the battle determines how Smith casts his actual ballot in his swing-state home of Ohio. (Note: It’s Smith who will cast his own vote for the winner of the game, be it Obama or Romney. Nobody will vote FOR him. That would be voter fraud.)
“Romney is a fighter. Obama is a Sorcerer,” said Casey Jex Smith in an email. “I will have to dumb down the rules a little so the battle is fast and furious. Romney will have a better thaco but do less damage. Obama will have worse thaco but do massive damage. It will essentially be all D20s and D6s.”
President Obama as slightly demented-looking “King Belian Shipsale.” The name comes from Wizards of the Coast’s random character name generator. (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)
“Using the world of sci-fi/fantasy, Dungeons & Dragons, and Mormon imagery as a springboard for exploration,” said gallery director Allegra LaViola, “Smith has created a world where Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are not just candidates in a race, but also but also mythical heroes in an imagined world.” Smith is a practicing Mormon, who identifies with Romney –”an unusual stance in the arts community.”
I asked Smith about his idea behind this show, which includes several characters sheets and other gaming-inspired works (and many works without any explicit gaming references). Why did he turn Obama and Romney into D&D characters?
“Ramparts” (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)
“I had already done portraits of them as well as John McCain back in the 2008 election. I did a series of male power figures that had an influence on me at the time,” Smith said. “I wanted to elevate these figures into mythical heroes through the lens of a language that I loved and was well versed in. The statistics allowed me to say more about the figures in a way that a traditional portrait wasn’t able to do. When this year came around, I decided to update the portraits and then create a narrative around their election year battles. My interest in Romney comes from my being a Mormon and watching this ‘Mormon Moment’ happen with some pride and trepidation.”
Smith is, essentially, giving away his vote. I wondered, did this decision represent his ambivalence about the election?
“I have put some serious thought into the idea. I don’t give up my vote lightly,” he said. “But would it be awful to say that I honestly think either candidate will do an OK job?”
Smith said he voted for Obama in the last election because “I was disgusted with the Republican party.” But lately, he felt the spirit of his late father “haunting” him and “prodding” him to vote for a conservative candidate. “I prefer the moderate Romney. I’m on the fence. Undecided,” he said. “So being undecided I don’t have a problem giving up my vote.”
This is Smith’s third solo show at the gallery, LaViola said, and one where he decided to “take on religion and politics.” As a practicing Mormon, Smith has an interest in religion, and this election cycle, Mormonism has been headline news. Instead of remaining silent about his relationship with his church, Smith has “come out with all guns blazing,” LaViola said. ”Smith’s incorporation of religion, fantasy and art history is both unique and unusual.”
Smith’s work includes “exquisitely rendered,” highly-detailed drawings (often ink on paper). The show also includes sculpture and mixed media works in pencil, color pencil and collage. Casey Jex Smith lives and works in Ohio. He holds a BFA from Brigham Young University and an MFA from The San Francisco Art Institute. He has shown his work at the Drawing Center, Yerba Buena Center of the Arts, and Swarm Gallery, Oakland. His work has been reviewed on artnet.com, Beautiful Decay, Time Out Chicago, and Fecalface.
[Incidentally, in the show, Smith was kind enough to include a work with a subtle shout-out to this blogger. In the below character sheet featuring the likeness of Vin Diesel, Smith outfitted the 14th level fighter named "Divleesin Banesguard" with "Gilsdorf's Studded Leather of Criticality +3." "I was reading and enjoying your book at the time I drew his portrait," Casey told me. "Your book meant a lot to me at the time so I felt like a shout out was necessary." Thank you, Casey. I have arrived.]
Yep, that’s Vin ”Divleesin” Diesel wearing ”Gilsdorf’s Studded Leather of Criticality +3.” (Image: Casey Jex Smith/Allegra LaViola Gallery)
