ABSTRACT
In late 2002, the New York City Metropolitan Transit Authority launched the “If You See Something, Say Something” advertisement campaign to raise public awareness about potential terrorist threats in response to the devastating 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center. A critical evaluation of the conceptual art work by Claire Fontaine, painting by David Lyle, and sculptural installation by Doug Beube must consider the political affect of the nation during this time and address how these art works question the established affective realm of the nation. Claire Fontaine, a Paris-based collective created by Fulvio Carnevale and James Thornhill, titled a work after the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) campaign slogan, “If You See Something, Say Something.” In the language of semiotics, the MTA campaign shifted the signifier “black backpack” from an iconic sign into an indexical sign of terrorism. The numbers confusion specifically undermined trust in the MTA campaign and raised questions about whose information was trustworthy.
