More is More

Emma Dean

Since the early 1950s people living in the United States have been entrenched in throw-away culture, which is evident in the rise in products that are discarded after a single use. Every day, customers and consumers use the excuse of holidays and pop culture to indulge in the capitalist nature our society has created. Over the past 70 years, the availability of inexpensive and mass-produced goods has created a “more is more” model for consumers. However, the joy of the new product results in an immediate gratification provided from an ever-fleeting moment in time. We live in a country where consumers are convinced they will find happiness by acquiring new things. More is More examines how the American culture of shopping has influenced people and society.

 The art installation, More is More examines the habitual nature of American consumption and explores how the current culture of shopping and wealth has negatively influenced society. A plastic shopping bag, in its simplest form, resembles the lowest status of a carrying container, opposed to a cloth or canvas bag. The unique shape of each plastic bag creates a juxtaposing position between industrial use and the labor of creating. While making these prints, I experienced the same immediate gratification one might experience while shopping. The gold shopping cart resembles the “Cadillac” of the shopping experience. People who have the ability to fill their cart with things, regardless of the value, are deemed more important contributors to society. The inside of the shopping cart has been gutted to demonstrate the fleeting gratification so prevalent in the world today. This aspect of American culture perpetuates a distinct class difference. American’s obsession with buying an abundance of ‘crap’ is what Karl Marx refers to as ‘commodity fetishism.’ According to Marx, commodities that carry value have nothing to do with the product itself and everything to do with why people think the commodity has value. [1] Despite the damaging social impact that incurs, Americans find any reason to consume single-use items. These actions perpetuate material desire which has encouraged the rise of American consumerism.

[1] Marx, Karl. "The fetishism of commodities and the secret thereof." Capital: a critique of political economy 1 (1867): 71-83.