EXERPTS ABOUT BILL PIERCE, AS
WRITTEN IN THE PRESS:

Bozo's Post-Modern Shrapnel:
Artists React to Election Year With Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand by Rachel Jones
We've always had a strong political undercurrent that has permeated what we've done, " Alex explains. "I don't think we've ever done a show that hasn't had at least one political piece in it. Even if we have to sneak it in, it's gonna be there."
This being a year for kissing babies, the two were eager to curate a show that contributed in a more creative manner than, say, decorating their front lawn with poster propaganda for their favorite candidate. So, along with Radioactive Future artists Yoni Laos, the Pierces complied a full-on political art exhibit featuring the work of fourteen artists, eleven of which are local.

If the event had a keynote speaker, it might be Al Franken. It's doubtful Bill O'Reilly or Bernard Goldberg would pencil this one into their Palm Pilots.
The title, Machine Gun in the Clown's Hand, is taken from a spoken-word album by Jello Biafra, the former vocalist for political punk band The Dead Kennedys. In the Pierces' version, photos, oil paintings, and silkscreen prints explore current and historical political issues, such as Bush's close ties with corporate America or the scandal at Abu Ghraib. In his work, collage artist Jason Sherry draws parallels between our current state and the Red Scare.

INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH Review by Robert L. Pincus

Radioactive Future - the phrase is forward-looking, in a bleak sort of way. It also has a retro ring to it, conjuring up Cold War images of grade-school youngsters ducking under their desks in practice drills for a Soviet attack.

Both futures, a '50s/'60s version and a present-day one, are on the minds of the 10 artists who currently make up Radioactive Future. The robot with an impressive height by Bill Pierce, which faces the entrance to the Spruce Street Forum, looks as if it could have slid neatly into a sci-fi film of four decades ago. But the cynicism that pervades this exhibition, dubbed "Industrial Strength," is an epidemic sign of the times. As much as people depend on computers and ever-burgeoning gadgetry, we don't have a sense of wonder about it all - technology has failed us too often.

Pierce toys with us, exploiting the gap between our technological literacy and the nonfunctional reality of his robot. His gleaming equivalent of man is looking good but isn't about to walk and talk. It's a kind of ingenious sculptural prop.

If it were standing alone, like some sort of mechanized host, you might think this show was a gee-whiz homage to science fiction and fact. But the black barrel next to it, labeled Radioactive Future, dispels that first impression, replacing it with a dystopian mood.

From: Revolt in Style Article 9/2001 by Kent Bates

Bill founded radioactivefuture.com a little more than a year ago in San Diego. Born of the overwhelming need to help contemporary artists gain recognition, Radioactive Future has provided a respectable and prominent home on the Internet for their artists, and have also organized and promoted live shows. Their philosophy is simple: Death to Corporate Art.

READ MORE:
www.radioactivefuture.com

http://www.radioactivefuture.
com/mgitch-get-underground-
article.htm

POWER IN NUMBERS: Radioactive Future tends to Shepard's flock by Troy Johnson