Framed Gun Artwork
Despite the sometimes-controversial position they occupy in history and in politics, guns are a widely recognizable symbol and an image of power that captivates a wide audience. As such, it may come as no surprise that there is a growing trend for framed gun posters. These posters, be they photographs, paintings, sketches, graphic manipulations, or any other form of artwork, are often vivid and loaded with meaning, authority, and the concept of raw power. Whether this power attracts the viewer or stirs up opposition often depends on the viewpoint the artist takes, which varies significantly from piece to piece.
Sometimes, the intention behind a piece is powerfully obvious in its title. In a piece such as “Guns of Glory” by Dean Millman, for example, one can assume safely that the framed gun wall poster art is going to give the subject material a favorable light. Contrastingly, “Six Shooter and Hand Cannon,” by LA Pop Art, might have something less favorable to imply. As with any artistic subject, it all comes down to how you spin it, but such a touchy subject is especially prone to interpretation.
Some portrayals of framed gun poster artwork depict guns as nostalgic elements of a rustic lifestyle, as in the hunting arms from Dean Millman’s “Old Boots.” In this particular work of art, guns are either an evil of violence or an idealistic component of patriotic justice; they are simply a tool of life as it once was, a factual reality of day-to-day existence. Others celebrate the pop culture role of the gun with a tongue-in-cheek flair, as “Tommy Gun in a Violin Case” does by creating a noir-styled homage to the gangster aesthetic.
Most of these artworks, however, seem to center around the idea of the fun as a tool of liberty and freedom. Multiple photographs of American soldiers with their weapons in hand, staunch defenders of good and right, form the basis of works like “Marksman M-16 Rifle”, while the ideals of the second amendment and the right to bear arms color the “Right to Bear Arms” by LA Pop.