Dreams for Sale appropriates advertising to question how capitalism dictates the American Dream. Made to look like a deteriorating billboard or window sign, the piece highlights how years of important questioning and scrutiny have complicated today’s image of the American Dream, which now seems to revolve around the growing upper class. The phrase “Dreams for Sale” calls attention to the idea that dreams are achievable if one can afford them and the conflicting feelings surrounding that idea. As the definition of the American Dream has shifted, messaging around what the future has shifted from something to anticipate with excitement to something worth dreading. This shift is reflected in the gradient of ad snippets that compose the artwork’s negative space. To add to the sense of overwhelm delivered by this line of thought, my own family photos embed personal questions like the following: What does the American Dream look like now? Does it look like my family? If I benefit from this system how do I love my country while recognizing that it doesn’t benefit those less fortunate? Do I know what it means to be an American? When is nostalgia for past versions of America appropriate? Cutting out our faces in each photo and washing out the images allows viewers to impose themselves into my presented image of the American Dream and consider their own definitions of success. 

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Found printed material, wood board, paper, acrylic paint, collage