Colleen Ford is a Brooklyn-based artist and dear friend of mine whose mixed media work is both a humorous critique on our culture and a thoughtful response to what's found. The Depression/Recession series I've posted here are made of two images; the one on the left is a collection of drawings she found in her neighborhood thrift store signed by a woman named Elizabeth Fletcher in 1933, and the graphite drawing on the right is Colleen's interpretation of the same subject through the lens of today. The work makes a simple, eloquent statement contrasting two time periods that are separated by nearly a century, two eras that are so similar in their bleak economic state and hopeful outlook and yet so completely different in terms of their ideals and reality.
Colleen is also currently trying to raise money for her newest project Saving For Our Futures through the fundraising site indiegogo. The work she is hoping to execute will be an installation of ten handblown glass piggy banks stuffed to the snout with lottery tickets, like this little guy:
The piece is a commentary on the debt we incur in the hopeful (and often fruitless) pursuit of our dreams, and the sometimes impractical investment in our futures, a reality that has smacked so many of us even before we reach adulthood. Once completed the work will be a part of an exhibition titled How Much Do I Owe You? produced by the public art organization No Longer Empty set to open in an abandoned Long Island City bank in December 2012. Please consider contributing—even the smallest donation of $10 will put your name into the work as a patron, $25 will earn you a piece of art in exchange for helping the artist realize her vision, but larger amounts will invest in even greater art rewards—for your walls and your karma.
You can also see more examples of Colleen's work on her website: colleenford.com
- Cathleen
[Images courtesy of the artist's website: colleenford.com]
