Contributing to the American Dream
By: Max Marbut
Artists Joey Thate and Kim Barry with the “Dream Map” at Studio 106.
If you’ve walked past the Studio 106 “Off the Grid” gallery at the Landing, you probably noticed the outline of America that stretches along one entire wall in the front of the gallery.
It’s made of thousands of tiny $1 bills and is being covered with paper clouds that express the dreams of people who have made their contribution to the public art project.
Artists Kim Barry and Joey Thate, co-founders of Studio 106, said everyone is invited to visit the gallery and write down their dream to be included in the collection.
“America’s dreams have always captured the imagination of the world. It’s also about the influence of dollars and cents, and if that is what has become our dream,” said Thate.
“The idea is that people can use money for more than one thing,” said Barry. “They think of it, or the lack of it, as an obstacle to achieving their dreams or they focus only on money. It’s all play money – what’s real is in your mind.”
Thate said current events were also part of the inspiration.
“We were thinking about the Federal Reserve’s unlimited power to print money,” he said.
The goal is to completely cover the map with dreams before the Aug. 4 First Wednesday Art Walk. Anyone who’d like to add a dream can visit Studio 106 near Nine West and Sports Mania 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday or 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Thursday and Friday. The gallery is also open during events at the Landing.
