PALM SPRINGS, Calif., March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Activist and artist Charles Merrill, who gained notoriety last year by not filing his federal income tax return in protest of the unfair federal tax laws for domestic partners, is now taking on another challenge.
Mr. Merrill, who comes from the same family as Charles Edward Merrill, one of the founders of Merrill Lynch & Co., is engaged in an art competition that he is sure will bring about a greater awareness of discrimination towards gays and lesbians throughout history. Merrill is widowed from his late wife, Evangeline Brewster Johnson, daughter of Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical founder Robert Wood Johnson. Art was a main interest in her life.
The Saatchi Gallery in London has created a competition named "Showdown" where artists submit their work to be voted on and the winner receives a monetary gift along with an exhibition of their work in the new Saatchi Gallery. Merrill recently was surprised to realize how little some people knew about gay history and has taken it upon himself to bring about social change and awareness through his work.
"My art is aimed at bringing social justice for GLBT equal rights, the way artist Joseph Beuys (founder of the German Green Party) brought change and social justice to environmental issues or the great Keith Haring highlighting AIDS issues," states Merrill.
Merrill has entered an oil and acrylic painting called "Two Spirit" and he urges readers to vote for him in the competition. The Showdown competition runs from March 5 through March 12, 2007.
Charles Merrill
