We Are All Socialists Now

"We Are All Socialists Now"
graphite on paper

"Do you know how it worked, that plan, and what it did to people? Try pouring water into a tank where there's a pipe at the bottom draining it out faster than you pour it, and each bucket you bring breaks that pipe an inch wider, and the harder you work the more is demanded of you, and you stand slinging buckets forty hours a week, then forty-eight, then fifty-six - for your neighbor's supper - for his wife's operation - for his child's measles - for his mother's wheel chair - for his uncle's shirt - for his nephew's schooling - for the baby next door - for the baby to be born - for anyone anywhere around you - it's theirs to receive, from diapers to dentures - and yours to work, from sunup to sundown, month after month, year after year, with nothing to show for it but your sweat, with nothing in sight for you but their pleasure, for the whole of your life, without rest, without hope, without end ... From each according to his ability, to each according to his need ..." - Chapter 10 'Sign of the Dollar' from Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Last week, I read an article at Big Government about an art student at Pratt named Steve DeQuattro. This student is experiencing the huge double-standard in the arts world. Artist, musician, actor, dancer, it doesn't matter. If you hold conservative beliefs, you could be the next Michaelangelo and the 'elites' would treat you like dirt. The arts are awash with prejudices. There is plenty of room for art for art's sake, as long as it's the sake of liberal propaganda. A work can be positively confounding and devoid of all skill and still be hailed as a masterpiece if it's making a 'statement' the art community condones.

As an artist, I know the culture can be tough. A few years ago, I began doing some political pieces, but I didn't publicize them. Most of them don't even feature my real name. Now, I find I am doubly careful. I've been an unemployed graphic designer for almost a year through no fault of my own. I'm desperate to find work in a town drowning in recession and graphic design over-saturation. Though I feel compelled to share my emotions through my art, I'm scared that a potential employer may find it. There is simply very little respect for creative dissent when it falls to the right of the middle.

Perhaps that feeling of being trapped helped inspire this piece. Two people, bodies strong, but faces gaunt, are chained together. They're blindfolded because it's so easy to lead the blind. He holds a hammer; she carries a sickle. They both drag a broken and beaten Liberty by a metal noose. Everything is lit from underneath, as if they tread on a bridge above a river of flame. I returned to my non-digital roots for this piece because the graphite is so visceral.

As someone who struggles with the dichotomy of belief and need for employment in a field that rarely shares my belief, I know what it's like to work in chains. I spent years wearing a blindfold, simply participating in the daily grind, hoping to make it another day. I'm inspired by Mr. DeQuattro's courage. It's not easy to defy something that seems so insurmountable. And if I manage to find employment again, I hope I can continue to express myself in pieces like this and not fear for my livelihood. I do not have the courage quite yet to spread this around under my real name. It will never be in my portfolio. I share it now in cautious solidarity. If I'm found out, which is distinctly possible, I suppose it will be for the best. But you're not alone Steve. You were never alone.