Embryonic Economics/How I spent my winter vacation

I believe that a coin mosaic is a savings account with a potential yield that would make a young Bernard Madoff reconsider his approach. If I can take 10 dollars worth of coins and make artwork I sell for 1000, I'm already 100 times ahead, and, unlike a corporation, my labor is the only investment.

It is with relief that I begin the new year, having weathered a severe and abrupt lack of income and eager to witness the events our uncharted path of unprecedented world change might have in store.

Fittingly, amidst a vast economic meltdown, with snow on the streets of NYC, I felt the pinch firsthand by becoming unexpectedly unemployed weeks before the holidays. No holiday bonus. No severance pay.
On a budget of dollars a day, committed to babysit a friend's dog as a favor for a period of 3 weeks, I locked myself in a tiny room in Queens and began some new artwork.
I wanted to take my exploration of mosaics from bits of money to a new level. I wanted to make an image that was personal, yet encompassing.

I needed to examine my life and isolate the source.

I chose to depict a human fetus, still developing in the womb.

From the moment of conception we are inescapably bound for (and by) finance.

The worth of a life is measured not by how much it can produce, but by how much it will cost.

Born owing debt, already separated into classes by poverty and wealth, life begins to form.

To create this mosaic I sorted the pennies by age: anything after 1982 is a cheap, brittle nickel alloy, while anything prior is real, deeply beautiful, aged copper.

The difference between finishes is dramatic.

Every piece was held in place by gravity alone, so special care had to be taken not to bump the table, lest catastrophe occur.... oops!

Day upon day, hour after hour, the surface fills in with detail.

I decided to make the brain a bit more complex than the body.

Copper slivers mimic vascular corridors.

Near winter solstice, the scant sunlight is to be savored.

A point eventually arrives when the distinction between myself and the work is difficult to detect. At these moments even closing my eyes does not make the image disappear. We are one.

50 dimes, chopped into tiny squares the size of matchstick heads, densely form the developing cerebrum.Next came the backbone, requiring a larger investment.
Thanks to a friend waiting tables at a comedy club in Manhattan, a constant supply of quarters flows my way. Is chopping money up any less a waste than spending it on toilet paper?
When faced with the choice of eating or making art, I'll often go hungry.
To be continued...

Cable Network News/Mixed Media

Of all the things in life with which I have an obsession, none remains more constant than my hunger for the news. Before the internet, I would start each morning by reading the entire newspaper. After 9-11-01 my addiction spiraled out of control, becoming a several hours per day habit which I still maintain. Often I see stories on artists and wonder what it takes to get noticed by the mainstream media. Do these artists find success instantaneously or simply fade away with yesterday's news?

During the election season, a massive amount of artwork depicting Obama was created, and one day while taking in the news I saw a blurb that caught my interest. An assignment was being offered to i-Reporters: "send us your Obama art". Of course I immediately created an account and uploaded some pictures.

Within minutes, my telephone rang. It was one of the producers, calling to ask permission to use my images on CNN. Finally, after years of trying to figure out unsuccessfully how to promote my artwork through the mainstream media, I had hit a bullseye. Even the press release I dropped off at the Associated Press headquarters in Manhattan with photographs of the exact same art yielded no result back in October. I thought that was the proper way to report news, yet it didn't work. Who knew it could be this easy?

Before I knew it I was appearing all over the i-Report website, poised to be viewed by millions.

Screw the galleries, I thought, who needs 'em?

And then I got a phonecall telling me I'd be on the TV in 25 minutes, sandwiched between some riots and a guy obsessed with his nipples:


The following day I posted some more pictures, hoping to separate myself from the pool of "Obama" artists by showing some newer work.

A few minutes later, it appeared on CNN, and was featured throughout the weekend on the i-Report website.
On Monday, January 12, at 1:40 Eastern time, I will conduct a telephone interview, live on CNN. I have a feeling 2009 will be a good year...

music video

Here's a video by some friends, Asa Ransom, featuring some of my art.  They are totally awesome, and their first album comes out very soon.

The Luck Of Stoney Bowes

the World Spilled its Money/BAILOUT!

New Work
"$urgery"
16" x 40" x 2"
Chopped Coin Mosaic

featuring:

North America...

...South America...

...Australia...

...Africa...

...Europe, the Middle East, & Asia

The world from pocket change, chopped into tiny pieces. Global finance, wounded deeply by debt, spills oceans of copper blood. Emergency measures seal the gash with more money, stopping the flow of credit. While the patient/victim remains in critical condition, questions remain to be answered: will it heal?
Is money something we can save?
Most importantly, is it worth it?

Military Entomology Holiday: TOYS-war-US

As Christmas approaches amidst a collapsing monetary empire, it seems appropriate to reflect upon the true meaning of the season: Toys. A recent court settlement given to Mattel calls for the seizure and destruction of millions of Bratz dolls, who in turn become victims of a thought crime perpetrated by their creator. The dolls are guilty only of being better looking and cooler than Barbie. The impending genocide must give us pause. Why on Earth would a toy company want to execute millions of dolls? Aside from the lost labor hours, materials and promotion costs, these are actual, usable dolls, and should be given to Toys for Tots or somehow otherwise distributed to children who will appreciate them. Obviously Mattel is more interested in money than kids. Humbug!
What has capitalism done to deserve such clout? When did money become more important than life? Can life exist without it? While we were enjoying the excesses that credit allowed, workers in China were toiling to fuel it, slaves for us all, hidden deep behind doors we would rather not open, like the animals in our stomachs and the gasoline in our tanks. The cold fact is, our lifestyles have been fed to us at the expense of many others, and in the end, even the customers at home are unimportant to these corporate bohemoths.
In Autumn 2006 I made a big bug from plastic toy soldiers, all hand-painted in China, which I purchased at a discount store in my Brooklyn neighborhood for 75 cents each. It was displayed during the Spring of 2007 in the front window of the Tacheles art center in Berlin's Mitte. I was struck at the time with the significance of putting a creature made from dismembered soldiers on the floor of a building that had been part of the Nazi government, and had been heavily bombed during the Allied invasion of Berlin. Real body parts from the past became plastic in the future as, phoenixlike, rose my MILIpede, 15 feet long, to greet hip young Berliners as they passed back and forth between the local purveyors of art and alcohol. Danke!

Today, two years later, I find myself revisiting the theme.

Two weeks ago, faced with the sudden loss of an already meager income, I found myself inventing a limited addition of Insects built from Army Men. Geared to sell before X-mas, they would all have catchy names to broaden their market appeal. The first would be "G. Fly Joe", the real American Hero.

The arms and legs were mounted as to maintain pose-ability, and the wings are made from machine guns.

I see these as a collaboration between myself and an unknown Chinese painter. Each is wholly unique and definitely handmade.
Next came "Beetle Bailey".

Two soldiers unite to form his underbelly.

Each has two poses, straddling the divide between insect and man as only art can.

Lastly, and most appropriately, I endeavored to create "Army Ants".
An edition of 6 was created for each "species".

Economic hardship pricing goes as follows:

Army Ant: $20

G. Fly Joe: $30

Beetle Bailey: $40

Act fast if interested. Orders beyond the current stock will be honored but may take several days for assembly. Please contact me regarding availability. Local pick-up/delivery in NYC, or can be shipped anywhere express. Happy Holidays!