In the weeks leading up to the opening of American Idolatry on October 29, we are interviewing the artists to learn more about their work.

Jonah Emerson-Bell
Brooklyn, New York

Utopia is Gay

Jonah Emerson-Bell is a sculptor who lives and works in Brooklyn. He uses a variety of materials including found objects, bronze, and neon. Recently he was part of the Shadow Shop exhibition at the SFMOMA. His work was featured on the cover of the summer 2010 issue of Bookforum.

Letter to George Bush

Q: Tell us about your project for American Idolatry.
A: I made the “Utopia is Gay” piece with my tax rebate from George W. Bush. This was back when the economy was first going to shit and W. gave this tax rebate to try and stimulate things. It was the first time I payed taxes and I did it so I could get the money to make this piece. I treated it like a commission, and when it was finished I sent Bush a letter and a framed photograph trying to sell him the sculpture. When he didn’t reply, I sent a framed photo and a letter to John Waters asking him if he wanted to buy it. I figured, the one that bought the piece would dictate the meaning of the slogan.

Used condoms cast in bronze

Q: Has the recession impacted your art?
A: The recession, or depression, has permeated every aspect of life. It’s something that everybody feels and is together in. Not just here, the world is such nowadays that every economy is tied together and when things crumble we all feel it. I’ve never really had much money and a lot of my work deals with the separation between the rich and everyone else. One way that I like to deal with this tension is by making high class art objects out of trash. Used condoms cast in bronze, or a Hollywood sign made out of used mattresses, things like that. I don’t know if the depression has necessarily changed my art practice, but it does bring this economic rift to the forefront. These hard times gives us all a lot to think about, especially with all the protests going on on Wall Street and around the globe. This depression has definitely effected my work because it has effected life, not just mine but everyone’s, and the art and the life move through this world hand in hand.

Used condom cast in bronze

Q: In your experience, do hard economic times hurt or help art?
A: I think that hard economic times are great for art. The thing is that normal people are probably not going to by your work because they don’t have the same kind of disposable income that they would if things were going well. But making art is not about making money, we all know that, and it’s something we all have to expect going into this career. However, when things are flush, dealers and galleries, just like everyone else, are trying to make as much money as possible, so they only focus on things they know will sell. When there is an “economic downturn” or, say, a depression, then chances of selling work become slim so people tend to take chances on new work or different forms of expression, which has traditionally given emerging artists opportunities that they never would have had. One of the things that brought America out of the last great depression was ingenuity. When things get hard people have to think in new ways to make things work, to make ends meet, to put food on the table, and this goes for the production and distribution of art work as well.

American Idolatry will show October 29 to November 6 at the Invisible Dog Art Center in Brooklyn.