Mercantilism is an economic theory, considered to be a form of economic nationalism. Mercantilism is an economic system were the nation is dependent upon its supply of capital and international trade. The nation would trade merchandise e.g metal and gold to accumulate power and wealth. this occurred during the 16th, 17th and 18th centurys and was focused more on the interests of the nation and not self interest.
Fiona Hall _ Tender
Tender “consists of dozens of simulacra of birds’ nests of all shapes and sizes, which are all made of American one dollar bills and they are made into the shapes of bird nests. The American dollar is the most disired currency in third world countries. The theme behind this piece of art work is people in third world countries are just like birds scavenging for material to build their nest and for people in the third world countries trying to find money for shelter.
Fiona Hall_Leaf Litter
Fiona Halls -Leave Litter shows the interrelationships between the natural and commercial worlds. Halls uses layering in her art and use very unusal and innovative materials, She is a well respected contemporary artist in Australia. For this particular piece of work she has used bank notes from several different countries. This piece of art work represents how money and wealth make use blind to see what else is happening in our world, and i believe alot of Fiona Halls work represents this.
"While money is the bottom line in our contemporary economy and overrides crucial environmental concerns, plants are often the raw material for generating income (and money, made from paper, is also produced from plants). Fiona Hall’s witty and elegant work captures this perfectly"
Russell Storer, Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, 2000
All Fiona Halls artwork i have looked at has a strong connection to the renaissance, the renaissance focuses on making capital, becoming wealthy by trade etc but Fiona Halls work looks at it the complete opposite, she looks at how the enviromental issues are just as important as the economical issues in society.
refernces:
http://www.nga.gov.au/federation/Detail.cfm?WorkID=26201
http://www.roslynoxley9.com.au/news/releases/2005/10/25/98/
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ReplyDeleteYou raise some valid points Stacy. I particularly like the part where you say, "The American dollar is the most desired currency in third world countries. The theme behind this piece of art work is people in third world countries are just like birds" this is very much true and hits 'home' hard when I read it. I also enjoy the relationships you make to mercantilism. Not stating the obvious but allowing the reader to find the connections and relate them back to your introduction on mercantilism. Very mentally stimulating blog. A pleasure to read.
ReplyDeleteRegards Jonny.