One People, One Planet, Hon! Hidden Meanings of Common ...

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The Oil Angle
2003, Political Commentary Design Originally for the Hieronimus & Co. Journal,
watercolor and pen and ink, 18¼” x 20¾”
Over and over the American people are told that the wars we wage in the Middle East and Eastern Europe are not
about oil. Just like Russia’s struggles in Chechnya are not about oil. As the Bush Administration pounded the drums
to invade Iraq on the premise that Saddam Hussein was linked to the 9/11 attacks, Hieronimus decided to illustrate the
oil angle. This seemingly obvious point has long been made by his wife and partner Zohara Meyerhoff Hieronimus on
her long-running daily talk show on WCBM 680 in the 1990s: control of this “Black Gold triangle,” including major oil
fields and the warm water seaports, is crucial to the economics of the developed nations whose elected governments
rise and fall on this angle. It is no coincidence that the major petroleum-energy producing regions and their plants
are in precisely these locations.
No doubt, Saddam Hussein and his terrorist supporters tortured and killed hundreds of thousands of innocent people,
making them unfit in our eyes to rule any nation, but the key reason his land was coveted by the United Nations
was control of its oil fields. Cui bono? Who benefits? Answer: anyone involved in the greater plan to build connecting
pipelines from these northern regions to feed directly into the Persian Gulf for export to the world.
Hieronimus’s love of flags is seen in his decision to identify each nation by its flag rather than by name. It should
encourage some viewers to crack open a reference book to figure out which one is which.
One People, One Planet, Hon! - Dr. Robert R. Hieronimus
The French Connection
2003, Political Commentary Designed Originally for the Hieronimus & Co. Journal,
watercolor and pen and ink, 20¾” x 26¾”
“The French Connection” is a companion piece to “The Oil Angle” and was also born out of Hieronimus’s frustration at the
corporate media propagandizing the people to accept a new war in the Persian Gulf under the pretense that it was not about
oil. When it was revealed that French President Jacques Chirac had found a way to send arms to Saddam Hussein in exchange
for oil, Hieronimus picked up his pens. Once again, his map of the region, this time including Europe, Russia, the Middle East, and
Africa, used the flags of these nations to identify them. France’s symbol of the fleur-de-lis doubles as a symbol of a bomb, and
we see a series of them flying from France to land in a defensive mode around the borders of Iraq. Notice that the map of France
is stylized to resemble a face literally vomiting out the bombs. In return there flows a series of words, “OIL” spelled backward,
emanating from Iraq to the capital of France, or the eye of the face.
Over the 10 years of this unlawful trafficking of arms and nuclear technology, most turned a blind eye. In the lead up to the
invasion of Iraq in 2003, however, Judicial Watch, a public interest group which investigates and prosecutes government corruption
and abuse, filed formal complaints against the French President and senior officials of other governments and corporations.
(www.JudicialWatch.org) They lodged a series of complaints against the unlawful proliferation of nuclear technology, the
unlawful trafficking of arms and military technology, the violation of United Nations trade sanctions imposed after the 1991 Gulf
War, as well as additional U.N. sanctions relating to the so-called “oil for food” program. Even Saddam Hussein talked openly
about his relationship with corrupt French politicians in the 1991 book, Notre Allies Saddam, when he said: “As for financiers,
industrialists and above all those responsible for military industry, the question must be put to French politicians: Who did not
benefit from these business contracts and relationships with Iraq? ... With respect to the politicians, one need only refer back to
the declarations of all the political parties of France, Right and Left. All were happy to brag about their friendship with Iraq and
to refer to common interests.”
While diverging from the usual themes in Hieronimus’s catalogue, what this series of political commentary designs share in
common with them is the passion to stand up and speak out when something popular is going wrong. He urges all his fellow
artists to use their talents to contribute to the betterment of their society through the powerful tools they possess
The Windup Space - Baltimore MD - Hieronimus Exhibit Guide - 2009 45