Clubs

12″x 36″x 4″
Wood
1993
$2,700

Text: When Americans have conflicts with one another they frequently seek to resolve those conflicts through an elaborate ritual. For that ritual each party pays a designated fighter to beat the other party with one of these clubs. An elder or a group of peers observes the beatings and determines who is the winner. Sometimes the ritual must be re-enacted several times to reach this conclusion. The process is intended to weigh both sides of a conflict and determine the Truth. Individuals enter into this ritual seeking its healing effects, but often the suffering of the ritual itself is greater the healing it offers. Some individuals feel unbound by the spiritual intention of the ritual and use it to extract wealth from others. ©