Elton “Ellie” Swann, Spiral Red Oak, North Carolina” (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 38 inches tall, $295 (Shipping included in the price.)
The Vision Statement for the Late Stage Capitalism Series by Stu Jenks.
"Late capitalism is a pyramid racket on a global scale...getting the suckers to believe it's all gonna go on forever.” -Thomas Pynchon, Bleeding Edge, 2013
Things are falling apart.
I can go through the litany of all the broken things, but you all know what I’m talking about: Greed and avarice are the new religion; The world is heating up, storms worsen, ice melting, CO2 increasing and it’s mostly the fault of old white men, who have money, power and who don’t give a shit about you or me or the future; Racism, sexism and classism had a few years of being on the wane, but now they’re back, shameless and in the forefront of our national and global politics (or perhaps it’s always been there); and the gap between the have and have-nots is greater than during The American Gilded Age, the rich get richer and the sick stay poor.
Botton line? I think it’s all coming apart, slowly, profoundly, fatally.
As an artist, I think it is my responsibility to show the hard things in the world as well as to make pretty things.
So…here is my new series of wall pieces. They started out whole, some as functioning walking sticks, some just as works of art. Now, I’ve cut them into pieces, to be hung like trophies on the wall, wildlife skulls of a dying world.
Each piece is named after a character from one of my four post-apocalyptic Step Zero novels. The world these people live in is only 50 years in the future, but I think it’s quite possible that our world too, could almost come to an end if all the oil goes away in a nuclear flash. And I also think it’s possible, that in that aftermath, we Americans would rebuilt our country, valuing the simple things: love, generosity, justice, humor, music, sobriety, feelings, consideration, and family. At least that is my prayer.
I pray also that I fulfilled the paradox of addressing a heavy subject here, and also making beautiful objects for you to enjoy.
It’s tricky, don’t you know. All of it.
Arthur "Artie" Saum, Desert Agave, Arizona (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 59 inches tall, $200 (Shipping included in the price)
Balthazar "Balth" Stone, Mountain Laurel, North Carolina (c) 2022 Stu Jenks, 54 inches tall, $250 (Shipping included in the price.)