Schwa (art)

Schwa is the underground conceptual art work of Bill Barker (born 1957). Barker draws deceptively simple black and white stick figures and oblong alien ships. However the artwork is not about the aliens: it is about how people react to the presence of the aliens and Barker uses them as a metaphor for foreign and unknown ideas. Schwa became an underground hit in the 1990s.

SCHWA

From the Schwa World Operations Manual (1997)

KEEP REALITY SECRET

CREATE OUTRAGED VICTIMS OF INJUSTICE

LIFE IS MORE FUN IF YOU DON'T TALK

ALONE CANNOT YOU IT RESIST.

THE POSSIBILITIES AREN'T ENDLESS.

SIGNS ARE SIGNALS.

IGNORE ALL INFORMATION.

EXPORT TELEVISION SLAVERY

TVs ARE NEEDLES.

IMAGINE A WORLD WITHOUT INDUSTRY

INDIFFERENCE MAKES NO DIFFERENCE

STOP DOMESTICATING YOURSELF

DO MORE NOW

IT'S COOL IT'S CRUEL

SHOP BY PILL

ALIEN EXISTS

THE STRUCTURE IS NO STRUCTURE

SCIENCE: 100% IMAGINATION FREE

SUPPORT ALIENOLOGY

THERE IS A RATIONAL EXPLANATION FOR EVERYTHING. THERE IS ALSO AN IRRATIONAL ONE.

WHY DO YOU THINK THEY CALL IT SPACE?

DEFECTIVE! THIS PART OF REALITY IS KNOWN TO BE DEFECTIVE AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED REAL IN ANY WAY. CONTACT THE SCHWA CORPORATION BEFORE YOU BELIEVE

THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE IS BETWEEN YOUR EYES.

THIS COMPUTER HAS BEEN CLEANSED. CONTENTS NOT INCLUDED.

From the Schwa 1999 Countdown Calendar

GRAVITY IS WHAT MAKES WORK POSSIBLE.

RESIST YOUR PRIMITIVE ALIEN MIND.

SIGNS CLOUD REALITY.

A MIRROR DOES NOT REFLECT.

THE END IS NEVER.

LIGHT IS TIRED.

MONEY MAKES TIME DIFFICULT.

CITIES ARE PACKAGING FOR PEOPLE.

INFINITY IS LIFE'S WAY OF SAYING SLOW DOWN.

NOW IS THE FUTURE YOUR PARENTS WARNED YOU ABOUT.

THERE IS NO FUTURE LIKE THE PRESENT.

VIVA ETERNITY!

Predictions

THE FUTURES MARKET WILL EVENTUALLY TRADE TIME.

IT WILL BE DISCOVERED THAT TIME ACCOUNTS FOR MOST OF THE MISSING MASS OF THE UNIVERSE.

PEOPLE WILL TALK ABOUT AND DEBATE THE WEATHER FOREVER.

YOU WILL FORGET THIS PREDICTION.

POPULAR MUSIC WILL CHANGE TO THE POINT WHERE YOU NO LONGER THINK IT IS ANY GOOD.

BY 2020, THE ENTIRE SURFACE OF THE EARTH WILL BE A MOVIE THEATER.

CREATING, TRADING, AND ACCOUNTING FOR MONEY WILL ONE DAY BE THE ONLY TYPE OF EMPLOYMENT.

BY THE END OF THE NEXT MILLENNIUM, THE EARTH WILL BE MADE ENTIRELY OF CITIES.

BY THE END OF THE NEXT CENTURY, CARS WILL BE THE ONLY FORM OF BOTH TRANSPORTATION AND HOUSING.

NO MATTER HOW MANY MYSTERIES ARE SOLVED, MORE WILL BE FOUND.

NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK THE FUTURE WILL BRING, YOU WILL EVENTUALLY FIND THAT YOU WERE WRONG.

YOU WILL CELEBRATE THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM ON DECEMBER 31ST [of 1999] EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T REALLY END UNTIL DECEMBER 31ST OF THE YEAR 2000.