In one way or another, we all buy into the idea of “the American Dream“, we strive for success and prosperity.  And if we haven’t achieved it, we’ll fake it ’till we make it.  Or we’ll just fake it.  In his mixed media work, Brooklyn artist Matthew Conradt looks at the contradictions we’ve built in our pursuit of the prosperous dream.

We buy McMansions with more space than we’ll ever need, filling them huge flat screens and designer knock-offs.  We stand in line to upgrade to the latest phone, we trade in perfectly running cars for new.  We’ll present ourselves as successful and prosperous, even if we are drowning in debt in our pursuit of a facade.

Conradt’s work begins with the collection of found imagery symbolic of American Life.  The images are then reconstructed and transferred onto mylar in large scale form, reinforcing the “bigness” of American culture.  The resulting images focus on the contradictions we find in our culture and how they creep into our subconscious.

To see more of Matthew Conradt‘s work, please visit his website.

All images are via the artist’s website.  Artist found via Little Paper Planes.