Haacke blends political, environmental, industrial, and humanitarian concerns all into this one piece of art. Aimed to look like the front banners of the Metropolitan Museum, Haacke uses this display to speak about the involvement that the Mobil Corporation has had in Africa. Behind the banners are the reality of the disservice the company is doing--a collage of pictures from Black South Africans' funerals. The elevation of the piece off the fiberglass layer beneath it gives the impression of a great weight being lifted or maintained aloft.
The cornice piece above does not display the normal carved words either. It speaks to the beneficial effects of sponsorship relationships between corporations and groups of people. That is on the facade along with the banners that seem to support the same "positive" impact of the corporation. Both of these pieces and their intended messages are devalued when beneath them stands the truth--the negative impacts of such relationships.
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