ARTISTS I LIKE: BLAKE FALL-CONROY

I just read about this interesting art piece by Blake Fall-Conroy on ArtsJournal.com yesterday and thought I would post the description and artist statement with it. Pretty cool, huh?

Having worked for minimum wage or less several times throughout my life, it's kind of amazing to think of an art piece that captures the repetitive futility that the experience can somtimes generate.

Blake Fall-Conroy Minimum Wage Machine (Work in Progress) 2008 Custom electronics, change sorter, wood, plexiglas, motor, misc. hardware, pennies (approx. 15 x 19 x 72 inches)

The minimum wage machine allows anybody to work for minimum wage. Turning the crank will yield one penny every 5.04 seconds, for $7.15 an hour (NY state minimum wage). If the participant stops turning the crank, they stop receiving money. The machine's mechanism and electronics are powered by the hand crank, and pennies are stored in a plexiglas box.