"Bare in Mind" Satirical Bond Paperwork Collage by Mickey "Kano" Kane

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"Bare in Mind" Satirical Bond Paperwork Collage

Elaborate collage by Mickey "Kano" Kane (American, 20th century). This piece is a … Read more "Bare in Mind" Satirical Bond Paperwork Collage

Elaborate collage by Mickey "Kano" Kane (American, 20th century). This piece is a satirical collage that mimics the ornate design of a bond certificate to critique the fragility of global systems and the false promises of progress. Along the top of the piece are the words "BARE IN MIND" with ornate "000"s under the corners. In contrast to Kano's other pieces in this series, this piece is empty of a clear central subject or object. Rather, the blue outline of a bond certificate contains a primarily white space where a faded eagle is just visible emerging from the blank area. Around this certificate are more collections of "000"s further pointing towards the concept of emptiness or "bareness." The background to the certification is primarily abstract, with occasional classical sculptures emerging from the background and stacks of barrels found along the edges. In the bottom left, there is the phrase "MEDIOCRATY REIGNS WHEN AMBIVALENCE SUPERIMPOSES CHARACTER." These details underscore the work’s poetic indictment of capitalism’s detachment from the human cost, particularly the loss of critical thinking and individuality. Visually rich and symbolically loaded, the piece confronts viewers with the uneasy trade-offs embedded in the concept of “value.”

Signed and dated "Kano 90" bottom right.
Paper size: 19.88" H x 27.94" W

Mickey “Kano” Kane (American, 1939-2002) was born in Illinois and grew up in Sacramento, CA. Kane moved to the Pacific Coast and worked on mixed media panels - which he would refer to as a “Totem” – and detailed collage compositions. His collage work is generally satirical or critical in nature, frequently dealing with themes of money, capitalism, government, power, and debt. By contrast, his “Totem” sculptural work is abstract and free of direct symbolism, focusing instead on the aesthetics of the composition.

Original Member, Artist’s Cooperative Gallery

Artist’s Statement:
The Totem is indicative of the unfolding 21st Century, graphically and metaphorically. It is neither one side nor the other, nor does one side challenge or compete with the other. Each side cooperates and thus enhances the other so that both "sides" transcend that definition into a composition revealing that, indeed, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The Totem reflects the inner harmony that all sides, whether two or two thousand, are striving to manifest in their own inimitable way. See less