"Need v Want"
ink on vellum
6" x 8" (ea)
2009
Need v Want
“What does $200 mean to you?” Such a loaded question and yet incredibly simplistic at its core. Of course $200 means a lot of different things to different people. To some, it’s what they take home in a day; to many it’s what they make in a week. $200 can feed a village in Peru for a month, or cover the tip for a Wall Street executive’s lunch. What’s $200 when our nation is hemorrhaging millions of dollars a day fighting an unwinnable war? The more I thought about it, the more I agonized. Suddenly the answer was not so simple.
Struggling, I asked friends and family what $200 meant to them. The responses were overwhelmingly opposite of the sinister thoughts in my head and hitting much more close to home. $200 to my sister meant a much deserved weekend getaway for her and her husband after an exceedingly trying year. $200 to my cousin meant a flight from Denver to Chicago to visit with the family. A friend jokingly pointed out that $200 could buy 28.57 lbs of jellybeans…if I was “into that sorta thing.” $200 as a means to build memories, share moments, and fill the heart with love and joy. Hmm…
Simply put, I realized the question became less about a monetary amount and more about necessity versus nicety. I need food and shelter and medicine, but I want a shiny new gadget, a new pair of boots, and a vacation would be nice. It’s in our nature to want things, but not every want is evil, greedy, or outlandish. Really, it’s all about options…and thank god I have them!
About the show
An exploration into what this amount of money means given today's economic climate, this exhibition poses a simple question to CAD's resident artists: What does $200 mean to you? The exhibition will feature written responses alongside single pieces of art by each resident. Sale price for any piece of art will be $200, with proceeds benefiting CAD's resident artist program. Participating artists include Stacy Peterson, Jen Rosenthal, Chris Hales, Seth Gershberg, Mike Wilgus, Kirsten Strauss, Rebecca Rounds, Pei San Ng, Hansol Goo, Abraham Velázquez Tello, and Hilesh Patel.
Opening reception Friday November 13, 6-10pm
November 13 - November 22 {by appointment}
1837 S. Halsted
312-725-4CAD (4223)
www.chicagoartdepartment.org
200 LINCOLNS
N.A.I.L.S. presents The CMYK Show 
This series was created in the fall of '08 as a way to channel the overwhelming feeling of doom & gloom that seemed to be crashing down all around us. I myself was feeling particularly engulfed with the daily assault of news coverage, financial uncertainty, election madness, joblessness, war, famine, mother nature's wrath, etc., etc., etc.
Looking back, the thread work was a new direction, but now seems to represent a larger motif -- the common threads that tie mankind together. People talk of the world's collective consciousness, and right now these common threads are tugging at all of us. As we've learned, what happens here, does have a tangible impact all the way across the globe. So we pull, and they pull, and someone else is pushing, and everyone's confused and before you know it, all of mankind has become completely intertwined. Like being tangled in a web, I personally was searching for the light at the end of a seemingly longer and darker tunnel than I'm used to. I'm no stranger to ups & downs, but the past couple months have proven to be particularly unnerving and difficult.
But like most of my work, it's the process that's helps shed light on life's troubling conundrums. The stitching became a cathartic meditation and helped release my feelings of hopelessness and disillusion, if only temporarily. Though feeling hopeful and re-energized by the promise of a new year, new leaders, new opportunities, I can't help but still dwell on that nagging question.
...If these common threads have tethered us all together, how do we really begin to untangle ourselves from this mess?
