“The Gun Show: No Background Check Required,” a new exhibit of guns and gun-related imagery at reZurrection Gallery in Tempe, puts both sides of the gun debate in its cross hairs.

Gallery owner Damian Johnson invited artists to participate in the show based on their art, regardless of their points of view.

“Damian is kind of about picking a controversial subject and letting the artist interpret that subject, and not really coaching anybody,” says his wife, Darci, who co-owns the eclectic gallery. “If it was all pro-gun or anti-gun, it wouldn't be so interesting.”

The art on display runs the gamut from sculptures to paintings and mixed media.

“Psycho Billy,” a 5-foot-tall metal sculpture by Valley artist Scott Rockland, stands among the statues leading visitors into the gallery space. The sculpture is a spiky figure holding two guns in the air.

Inside the gallery, there's a slightly distorted black-and-white photograph of guns and shells by multimedia artist Bill Bailey, a student in interdisciplinary studies and performance at ASU West. Covering the photograph are block letters in red and silver reading “The Cons demented Man.” It is the second in a series of pieces that are anagrams (rearranged letters of words to form new words) reflecting the Bill of Rights.

“I'm converting the wording ‘The Second Amendment' into ‘The Cons demented man,' ” Bailey explains. “That kind of makes a statement on top of the guns, that the Second Amendment takes a different meaning for different people.”

Bailey says he is not making a statement about guns — “I'm leaving that up to the viewer.”

On another wall, a square canvas with a bull's-eye in the center catches your eye. It is surrounded by a grid and hundreds of stark black paint splotches in neat rows. The multimedia piece was created by Gilbert artist Rose Minetti.

“Big Shot” was not intended to reflect a particular point of view on guns.
“I'm not a staunch anti-gun person,” Minetti says. “But I certainly don't understand why people have to have them.

“On the other hand, there are people who hunt, and they do it legitimately, and if this is what makes them tick, go ahead!”

California artist Derek Parker's “O.A.R. (Optimistic Assault Rifle)” is a fabricated-steel-and-cast-aluminum gun with small metal pigs inserted into the magazine clip.

“It is a satirical piece that reveals the overwhelmingly American mentality that drives us to make the world a better place by force, if necessary,” Parker says.

J.A. Jurewicz's piece, “To Reason Why,” is a small, rectangular canvas depicting an American flag with rows of plastic toy soldiers, dotted with blood-red coloring. Every other row of soldiers is covered by a thin strip of bandage, also made to appear bloody. Tiny tick marks in groups of five surround the outside of the piece; they represent the number of soldiers killed in the war in Iraq.

The Johnsons opened reZurrection Gallery in December 2000 after beginning to collect and restore antique and retro furniture. They have a love for antique, eclectic and unusual items — ornamental antiques, lamps and furnishings, clothing, purses, jewelry and accessories, candles and gifts — which they hand-select to sell.