Marianne Vitale, “Equipment”

Weapons like bombs and the planes that deliver them are impersonal in the sense that they kill indiscriminately. But they’re often personalized with inscriptions or cartoons by the military personnel who use them (think of the nose art on World War II on bombers). The artist here explores this contradiction with customized “torpedoes,” including one painted to resemble a cigar and another painted like a Jackson Pollock.