In his drawing series, Jim Roche has taken phrases used by a cross-section of contemporary culture, and drawn them meticulously on paper, framed them, and placed them on a museum wall. These are phrases that are often used behind closed doors: in boardrooms, livingrooms, churches, meeting halls. They are also plastered on bathroom walls and protest signs. They represent radical thought from both the left and the right. Roche presents them not as opinion, but as observation...some Americans feel like this.
These phrases are often taken from newsletters, online forums, or organizational rhetoric from groups like Occupy Wall Street or the Tea Party. By shining a spotlight on some of the more inflammatory and politically-incorrect views in comtemporary culture, Roche is initiating serious dialogue. He is not providing solutions, but is asking better questions, the essential role of the artist in Culture.