Notre Dame, IN, April 22, 2003 -- Crispin Prebys always used his art to promote political awareness. The events of September 11, 2001 and the enactment of the new USA Patriot Act, however, made this duty to inform and inspire a top priority for him.

"After 9/11 with the inappropriate language stating that 'you are either with us or against us' and upon hearing about the Act, I felt it was something people needed to know about," said Prebys.

With this in mind, the graphic designer read the language of the act itself and exposed himself to both conservative and liberal analysis of the piece. Crispin then created one of his most controversial pieces to date, a critique of the Patriot Act currently on display at the Snite Museum of Art in Notre Dame, IN.

The exhibit consists of a series of posters designed with "some graphic elements of flags, which hang alongside the wall signifying mourning. Each flag contains an upside-down American flag as a symbol for distress. This is the icon for the entire project because this Act in general has placed our country in a state of distress."

The project represents for the designer an expression of his general desire to be a good citizen. For Crispin to be a good citizen is to "know what your government is doing."

The posters are organized beginning with the most general one, informing readers what the Act in total can and will do, and ending with the most specific posters, detailing each individual complaint the artist has against the legislation.

"One poster is directed at the Office of Total Information Awareness and the Homeland Security Office… another is intended to suggest a solution to the problem, and that is to vote," explains Crispin.

The idea of Total Information Awareness (TIA), and its leading man John Pointdexter, known for lying to congress about his role in the Iran-Contra scandal, was particularly problematic for Prebys.

"TIA would data mine on every U.S. citizen and analyze this data to look for possible links to terrorism. Luckily, since the outing of TIA, many in Congress have put the breaks on this program because it is so invasive on our privacy," comments Prebys.

Furthermore, adds Crispin, "there is nothing in the act that will stop committed individuals from completing a terrorist act. The only thing it does is provide unnecessary tools to agencies who have enough to investigate and need, not expanded powers, but better inter-agency communication."