KIM MORSKI

Blizzard

Blizzard is a series of 22 collagraph monotypes in which visual information is obscured by means of accumulation, redaction, and cover up. In the face of deliberate misinformation and informational manipulation, this series is a symbolic attempt to pierce the cloud of obfuscation.

The title of the series is a reference to the term “blizzarding”, coined by sociologist Dr. Lisa Martino-Taylor to describe tactics used by U.S. Government officials to frustrate public inquiry into classified information. In response to Freedom of Information Act requests made by Martino-Taylor for her research into secret radiological weapons tests carried out in St. Louis, Missouri shortly after WWII, she received a “blizzard” of digital documents, making the actual information she requested extremely difficult to sort out. Similarly, hiding illegal or ethically questionable research within legitimate government projects was, in fact, one of the techniques used to keep the tests in St. Louis hidden from the public during and after they took place.

The monotype prints also allude to internal memos made by Donald H. Rumsfeld during his tenures as Secretary of Defense. The memos (known as “snowflakes” at the Pentagon because there were so many) have a quality of candor and transparency, all the while revealing no certainty of truth.

This project was made possible through the sponsorship of the Artist’s Project Award at the Art Gym Denver, where the series was printed.