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Lesson from the Man in a Van – when life gives you lemons, turn them into lemonade and then pour it on a canvas and call it art. I love it:
The beat-up 1989 Dodge van carries a sign with a question: "How has the recession affected you?" Along the side, a request: "Tell me your story."
Scrawled in marker across the orange paint are hard-luck tales: "My grandma lost her house and my dad is working less hours," signed Peoria, AZ. "I lost my job, my home, my car & was homeless for 6 months. This was the first time in 27 yrs I was out of work," signed Sue W.
The man behind the wheel is Aaron Heideman, 29, an artist from Grants Pass, Ore., who in the past year began sleeping in the van on a mattress he bought for a six-pack of beer and lost his job at a paint store. He hit the road July 1 with what he calls "The Man in a Van Project," angling for a $250,000 prize at an art fair.
"I just want to give people a voice," he said during a stop in Rhode Island, the 20th state he stopped in during what he calls a nationwide conceptual art piece. His media, as he describes it: a 50-yard roll of Tyvek, a Dodge van, and a homeless man (himself). His final destination is Grand Rapids, Mich., home of ArtPrize, where he plans to display his project in September and October.
So, consider this your van. How has the recession affected you?
3 Comments
three friends back home in Illinois – one in HVAC, one working for a forklift rental outfit, the other a salesman of plumbing supplies – have had salary cuts of 30%. At my employer, Hearst Digital Media, HMO coverage has been rolled back and there’s been a hiring freeze. I myself took a pay cut at the beginning of this year and at my girlfriend’s place of business, Conde Nast, layoffs have been fast and furious. Fortunately she still holds her job. Obviously these industries (media and construction) are among the hardest hit, and media isn’t wholly a recession-related problem, but it’s certainly not helping matters.
I worked for an independent contractor whose business was going down the tubes, and took early retirement myself, which was not the worst plan in the world. Fortunately, my retirement funds were not invested in the market. My family includes a few siblings whose retirement funds were decimated, and one who depended on substitute teaching jobs in CA for necessities is having a real struggle.
Pretty cool project.
I’m not sure I’d have something to add personally…yet. When I’m out of a job, I think I’ll have a lot to write.