the fl3tch3r exhibit: social & politically engaged art

2014

reece museum, eastern tennessee state university, johnson city, tn [oct15–dec 3]
juror: elliott earls, chair of 2d design at cranbrook academy of art. exhibited “the art and science of trickle-down bullshittery,”
36" × 48" digital collage print.
[national, reviewed / juried]

the mechanics of the so-called free market are a complex, mysterious, and crooked beast. this work is my personal understanding of realities of the reagan-era “trickle down” maxim, which was actually coined ironically by will rogers. i am highly suspect of hierarchical systems that seem to consistently aggregate power and money into ever-tighter circles, wildly overvaluing a few while so many labor tirelessly without much hope at all for improving their lot in life. accumulation of great wealth by some, leading to a better life for many others is a concept that rings increasingly false as worker pay stagnates for decades while CEO pay rises to over 230 times that of average workers (and was 383 times more in 1998). not unlike a shark, when a person gets a taste of money, they become ravenous for it and the primary motivation becomes generating more of it by any means necessary.