In Whom We Trust $5 by Jason Myers
Jason Myers
You’ve read of artists who dapple in numbers and the nuances of numerology, those who favor the power of arithmetic and its uses of addition and subtraction, and those who dance in the textural. Jason Myers does one more new thing–fuses economics and technology.
You might wonder how this is done when reading an explanation of his creative process and technique but his recently completed works speak to the riveting relationship of money to society and citizens to their currency. The depth found in stories works like In Whom We Trust $1 tell are not surprising when the fact is revealed that a single painting takes Myers a year to conceptualize and complete.
This series is stamped by fragmented, wispy, near broken figures. These bring color which is essentially the value the currency possesses. Only where the figures are present can colors be visible, all else is grayscale. The In Whom We Trust series is a double speak for the reality that the American people often trust more in their currency than the God cited on the bills. The figures seem to purposely obstruct the word “God” as a confirmation of this fact.
Not only do the figures obstruct the word “God” but they also appear mauled, conjuring the phrase “working to death”. How often have we seen men and women break their bodies for bank? Far too often.
This may even beg the question… why the world give money so much power, when its value only exists because of humanity’s perception of its value.
The work captures the concise process for Myers’ end product, what fills it up and sends it on the winds; this text greets you upon entry into his official site…“The most essential influence for my work is simply the dynamics of the world”. Myers single handedly captures what lies at the myriad of intersections the world often goes careening by–economics, human resources, contradictory separation of church and state, financial freedom, and the lack thereof.
