ART AND THE BOUNCY BANKER: Letter to the Bank #46

The Bruxist Collective's take on Art and (as Alfred Jarry might put it) P'finance.

A numerically dyslexic artist (and reluctant consumer) shares his dearth of financial wisdom and resulting frustrations with his Bank Manager. Read personal letters from the elusive Art to his even more elusive Bank Manager. See a comic rendition of a Day In The Life Of The Bouncy Banker. Art struggles to make sense of the senseless as the Authorities of Finance wobble but never quite fall down. Full of hot air they float above it all! When they bounce it is with impunity! Why are there no Remorseful Bankers? Can Art and Finance ever coexist? Do you have a Blue Chip on your shoulder?

When bankers get together they talk about Art. When artists get together they talk about money. Oscar Wilde

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Letter to the Bank #46

Dear Mr. Bullrider,

I'm going to lighten up! My middle name is Art. Did I ever tell you that before? This is my latest attempt to get more intimate. There are so many barriers that exist between us, between you the guy with his hand on the purse strings, and me the guy with his hands in his empty pockets.

Have you ever noticed how those who do not have to worry about where their next paycheck is coming from, (or, for that matter if a paycheck is coming at all seeing as they are sitting on cushions so soft their paths throughout their lifetimes will be smoothed and swept before them) prefer not to talk about their finances. I suspect this might in part be due to a certain kind of shame or guilt, a feeling that perhaps they should be sharing the wealth. Meanwhile those with nothing obsess about money and needs must talk about it otherwise they slide into deeper and deeper debt. How can two such diverse approaches to this substance that is so essential to us all ever see eye to eye on the topic? The rich do not get why the poor are so upset by their stratospheric earnings. They cannot understand the failure of the poor to make more money! But the fact is the poor are always penalized for having nothing and the rich are always rewarded for having something. I'm not saying this situation should be reversed. I'm just just suggesting people get payed for their hard work. You shouldn't be paid a lot for playing squash and once in a while tweaking some numbers. This certainly doesn't warrant a bonus. Meanwhile the single mother putting her kids through school and working two jobs to get food on the table should be making a decent wage.

Yours sincerely,

the ever elusive Art

PS-do you know he even eludes himself sometimes, fails to get on with his painting, obsessed as he is with his own inability to create wealth. Creating paintings, making Art, (because that is what Art is doing in essence, making Art-he is growing himself) must seem like such an absurd thing to do with a life when there is money to be made. I've tried but I can never figure out how to perfect that watermark. Tips please! You are my bank manager after all!

I call the painting enclosed Score or Underwater. I haven't quite decided yet. I show you this just to confirm in your mind that I'm truly getting up to no good.