Perfect Disaster, pencil on paper, 80" x 78", 2008

Model Bunker (1:2.5 Scale), digital print on corrugated plastic, wood,
screws, 94" x 96", edition of 3, 2008

Left: Perfect Disaster, pencil on paper, 80" x 78", 2008

Right: Force-of Narrative , Ford Crown Victoria bumper cover, three
bumper stickers, dimensions variable [also available: set of three
bumper stickers, 3" x 10" each, edition of 9, $15 each set], 2008

Sea and Space Explorations is pleased to announce Broken Windows, Perfect Unrest, State of Alert, the first solo exhibition by Los Angeles artist Jason Kunke. For this exhibition, Kunke uses a variety of media including large-scale drawing, video, sculpture, and punk rock 'zines to explore a central paradox of our sociopolitical climate.

Current political policy is caught between two authoritarian yet apparently conflicting ideas: broken windows theory and the state of alert. Broken windows theory asserts that unchecked minor transgressions lead down a slippery slope, culminating in a crisis of criminal disorder. The state of alert contends that the executive's powers should have force of law in order to combat a dire existing crisis, be it war or disaster, which threatens society. One idea entails an imminent future crisis, while the other requires an immediate present crisis. So which crisis is it? Either way, crises such as civil unrest and perfect disasters generate rather than disrupt the legitimacy of authority, imbuing them with the force of narrative.

Kunke begins by creating oversized scale models of architectural elements from the Los Angeles Police Museum. Made out of corrugated plastic, the models are incorporated into the exhibition space's exterior, transforming it into an ad hoc museum of authority.

Inside the exhibition the force of narrative is examined as it has been employed throughout time, from prehistory through early eighties hardcore punk rock. Included is a video in which Kunke interviews a collector of ancient anthropological tools, debating their status as art or authoritarian devices, and determining what they can be used for. Also included is a 'zine inspired in part by State of Alert, the first band of punk icon Henry Rollins. The 'zine includes submissions from other local and national artists. (The exhibition space also doubles as a practice space for a State of Alert cover band.)

Also exhibited is a large-scale drawing that functions as a monument to the force of narrative, depicting a scene from the television show Perfect Disaster, where a policeman and an investigator observe the aftermath of a satellite's fiery crash into a graveyard.

Jason Kunke lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2007. He has exhibited at the Gatov Gallery at University of California, Long Beach, Polvo in Chicago, Commerce Street Artist Warehouse in Houston, and will exhibit at the Texas Firehouse in New York City this summer.