Artist’s Statement
In my painting “The Billionaire's Bidding,” I depicted a metaphorical and satirical billionaire takeover of America. As a working class student the current state of the United States is extremely concerning. Amongst countless other issues, I’ve decided to illustrate the richest people in America and how they treat us as anything less than the backbone of the country. You can see in the painting from left to right Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos in red, white, and blue. They are pictured gathered around a cock fighting pit. Behind them are never-ending rows of chicken houses which happen to be just two pieces of wood leaning together in the shape of a triangle. The chickens represent the people of America; the ninety seven percent, the lower class, middle class, and upper class and the houses represent our battle to live comfortably. In front of them is a circular pen in which the chickens fight and countless tiny chickens watch which represents current practice of American politics..
I wanted to illustrate the power held by the three percent of people holding the wealth of the United States. Chicken fighting is illegal in all 50 states and is a felony offense in 42 states and the District of Columbia. Chicken fighting is similar to horse racing. The chickens are bred to fight and sometimes given steroids and oftentimes forced to train to increase their chances of winning. Before they enter the ring their gobbles are cut off and knives are attached to them. Players then bid on which chicken they believe is going to win as the chickens fight to their death. I chose this event because it reminds me of the American lobbyists who pay people to vote for their desired laws. They have created a scapegoat to differ from the real issue—them.
We often hear the president talk about how immigrants and people of color are rapists, drug dealers, and criminals. The article called “What Policymakers Need to Know About Today’s Working Class” by Aurelia Glass states “the current working class largely works in services, particularly retail, health care, food service and accommodation, and building services, though manufacturing and construction remain large employers as well. Black, Hispanic, and other workers of color make up 45 percent of the working class” Glass also mentions, “when the share of people of color in the working class began to accelerate, non-Hispanic white workers made up 85 percent of the working class.”
According to the article immigrants and people of color are doing almost half of the work in the country. They are not criminals, they are the backbone of the economy making up almost half of the working population.
My painting has hundreds of chickens while there are only four large billionaires. The chickens represent the proposed and believed power of the ninety seven percent. We are led to believe we are not powerful and the billionaires are made to think they are the most powerful and the most important. They also are painted to tower over the chickens to demonstrate how all of the Americans are a part of their silly little bidding game. Whoever has the highest bid wins–whoever is richest will win.
In the painting I’ve made the billionaires look objectively senseless. I attempted to show that there is power in numbers. No matter how small or destitute we must seem, we still have billions and billions more people than the four at the top. I attempted to present them senseless by giving them caricature style faces. I accentuated their features where they are still recognizable but look quite foolish. It was important to make them look insensible to show how they are lacking human qualities such as empathy. The billionaires could easily step on the “chickens” or easily give them a better life, but instead they choose to watch them fight for their entertainment. Chicken fighting represents racism in America–the great divide between democrats and republicans, Christians and queers.
Around the chicken pen are more chickens also watching the chickens fight. This is representing the distorted view that the billionaires are on our sides. The idea that we are having fun too. We want to be a part of the game! Until the “chickens” realize they are not the same, they will continue to fight with each other generating the incessant cycle of chicken fighting. If you look closely you will find layers and layers of meaning. However you interpret this painting is up to your own discretion and I look forward to seeing the deeper connections that viewers will encounter.
