Dear Mr. President:
I, along with many other artists, wish to lodge a complaint regarding your economy. I bring this to your attention because our sales are being curtailed by your lack of interest in our national economy.
A few years ago, I had my first art show. Although I was a neophyte in the art world, my questionable art sold extremely well. One year later, I had my second show. The art had improved but the sales declined. Another year later, the art was showing signs of being on a true professional level, yet sales declined again.
I am one of the fortunate few who do not depend on my art to make a living. Wise investments and a sound retirement plan makes any additional efforts to make money from my art superfluous.
Artists are the canaries in the coal mine. They are the first to fall over when the air becomes bad. Mr. President, the air is bad.
Art is not something folks must have; art is bought with money after the food is bought, the utilities paid, the car is filled, the insurance is taken care of, and the payment on the house is made.
Each day you attempt to kill the coal industry, each day you do not grant leases on federal land for oil exploration, each day you deny the distribution of oil from Canada, each day you oppose the lowering of corporate taxation, each day you tolerate the waste of federal taxes, the higher cost of health care, etc., is another day you deny someone the privilege of purchasing art.
I take this personally. I've always priced my work at a low rate to insure sales to the humblest among us. Hell, I've done more in the last few years for the least privileged than you have done in the last six years.
Even those who are wealthy are somewhat nervous about expending money on art. They have the money but are frozen by uncertainty. In a world that said “Goodbye” to racism years ago, you and your henchmen stir the pot of racial hatred for political gain. Not supporting our allies as friends, but as poor relatives, allowing the few powers left in the world to bully their way in the world, and the reluctance to fight our enemies with our entire might, does not engender confidence in the future.
I understand why folks bought into the “total transformation” of our great country. We as a nation have always looked to the new, the transformative, but we had no idea that your intention was to transform the nation into a third world country.
In spite of your best efforts, you have not been able to totally destroy this great nation, and two years from now we will have a new President, hopefully one whose priorities include the economy and one who will be less divisive. In your remaining time, I suggest that measures to improve the economy would be in order.
I'm looking forward to a future as a minor artist in which the economy does not make sales extremely restrictive.
Yours respectfully,
John W. Pinkerton
John W. Pinkerton
(minor artist)
enough