October 7, 2008-
The financial meltdown leaving many Americans and around the world wondering what a dollar is worth, one New York City artist has an answer - zero. The U.S. economy faces a massive economic downturn, with job losses on both Wall Street and Main Street, tightening credit availability and large increases in public debt. Central banks around the world cut interest rates in unison on Wednesday but the unprecedented move failed to help battered stocks, thaw credit markets or temper forecasts for a sharp global economic downturn. The relentless slide in home prices has left nearly one in six U.S. homeowners owing more on a mortgage than the home is worth, raising the possibility of a rise in defaults -- the very misfortune that touched off the credit crisis last year. The result of homeowners being "under water" is more pressure on an economy that is already in a downturn. No longer having equity in their homes makes people feel less rich and thus less inclined to shop at the mall. China's manufacturing growth has been spurred by increasing demand for inexpensive goods in the United States, Europe and Japan. The United States with an increasing unemployment rate, dampening consumer and business credit and declining growth, alone accounted for around a third of China's exports would not be able to sustain its demand for goods from China. The United States has been pumping $300 billion (which is half of China's $600 billion GDP) into China's economy in the past couple of years. Hence China's rapid pace of growth will be arrested as the U.S. economy is transformed. Underlying all of this is the fact that U.S. economic woes signal not just a short-term crisis of confidence, but a long-term structural change.
Painter and printmaker Laura Gilbert says the artwork reflected the destructive role of many financial institutions, inflation, and the decline of U.S. currency to the point of seeming worthlessness.
The Zero Dollar, 8.5 x 11 inches. With a print edition of 10,000,
the monetary value of the print is deflated to zero. The signed and numbered print of the "Zero Dollar," will
therefore be available free at El Taller Latino Americano
beginning at the October 24 reception and continuing until all
prints have been distributed.
October 24-November 22, 2008
Grady Alexis Gallery
El Taller Latino Americano
2710 Broadway (@104th St.)
New York, NY 10025
Reception: October 24, 6-9 p.m.
Curator: Jon Coffelt
Laura Gilbert Homepage
Read More (External Links):
As the U.S. economy falters, whither China?
Housing Pain Gauge: Nearly 1 in 6 Owners 'Under Water'
Central banks cut rates, but markets stay fearful
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