No Longer Empty Presents 'How Much Do I Owe You?'
The financial system and banking are topics that are hard to avoid, especially here in New York, ever since the recession began in 2008. We hear about them on the front pages of magazines, in the news and of course in our political system. Starting today, the latest exhibition by New York City based No Longer Empty called "How Much Do I Owe You?" takes a look at not only the infrastructure of finance, but how embedded it is in within our culture and our daily interactions.
"How much do I owe you?" is a question we ask daily in one form or another. Whether we're buying lunch, returning a favor or paying back a loan, we are constantly putting value on our every day lives. No Longer Empty has invited artists to explore this set of ideas, whether abstract or firmly rooted in finance, inside The Clock Tower, a former bank building, in Long Island City, Queens.
As with their previous project
at The Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx, No Longer Empty has taken over and completely transformed 3 floors of the building including the massive vault in the basement with the help of more than twenty artists. Masters of the site specific project, NLE has given each artist an installation space within the bank and they've produced works ranging from murals, to glass sculpture, to film. All of the pieces are provocative and invite the exhibition's attendees to evaluate our societal and personal notions of value.
How Much Do I Owe You?
opens tonight, and will run through March 13, 2013 with special events running each week. The opening party tonight runs from 7 to 9pm on location with a DJ, drinks and the chance to talk to the amazing artists and No Longer Empty staff who worked so hard to put the show together. Take a preview look at some of the pieces and installations below, and definitely try to stop by the totally unique exhibit this winter (photo above: Sol Aramendi -
Dark Treasure
).
How Much Do I Owe You
presented by
No Longer Empty
Opening reception: December 12, 2012 from 7 to 9pm
Open Thursday to Monday (1pm to 7pm) from December 13, 2012 to March 13th, 2013.
29-27 41st Avenue
Long Island City, Queens
The bank's vault in the basement houses Orit Ben-Shitrit's
Vive Le Capital
video installation.
Guerra de la Paz's business snakes are
Sealing the Deal
Ghost of a Dream's
In Banks We Trust
sarcastically looks at bank slogans and catch phrases by spelling out the word 'Trust' using the negative space.
Colleen Ford explores how we dream of saving money while pushing ourselves further into debt with
Saving For Our Future.
One of five
Keiko Miyamori
typewriters encased in resin.
Give and Take
by Sal Randolf toys with our ideas of fairness and value by encouraging participants to either give, take or exchange money with what is already on the plates.
Evaluate your own personal actions with Jennifer Dalton's
Reckoning
. The artist will come and read the anonymous self-assessments and chart the responses at several times throughout the exhibition's duration.
Huge currency based kites by Erika Harrsch hang from the ceiling.
The Price of Happiness
by Ghost of a Dream is a beautiful mural made primarily of lottery tickets.
