Description

Raftery depicts the habits and mores of average Americans- the ordinary events of modern life-often humorously. "Shopping for a suit is a cultural remnant, it is an event in a man's life," the artist explains. "I was thinking about male vanity." Raftery presents such mundane situations as straightforward, old-fashioned narratives, allowing the story to unfold in a series of related scenes.
Engraving is exacting and difficult, so few artists today choose this printmaking method. Raftery, however, has mastered the art of cutting grooves into a copper plate. Since paper currency is printed from metal plates engraved in the same way, he likes the implied connection between the technique and monetary power and authority.