Oh, Money! Money!
 Oh, Money! Money!by Eleanor H. Porter, illustrated & interpreted by contemporary collage artistsOh, Money! Money! by Eleanor H. Porter and illustrated by a collective of collage artists is published by Kolaj Institute and Maison Kasini Canada. In Porter’s 1918 novel, a Chicago multi-millionaire struggles to decide to whom he should leave his money. As an eccentric experiment, he schemes to give his three distant cousins one hundred thousand dollars each to see how they handle the windfall. The book is a time capsule of early 20th century American life with a strong focus on the lives of women and observations about material culture and communities before the rampant consumerism of the 1920s and the Great Depression. In telling this story, Porter gives us a look at the role of and attitudes about money that remain relevant today. The book raises important questions about the role of money in our lives: What good is money? Is money cruel? How should one handle money? How does money change us? To illustrate the book, Kolaj Institute organized a residency that brought together ten artists who worked collaboratively to make sixty-three collages that interpret Porter’s novel for a 21st century audience.  This edition of Oh, Money! Money! reflects collage’s unique ability to bridge time and culture. “These artists dragged this book into the 21st century,” said Ric Kasini Kadour in the book’s foreword. “In doing that, they open space in which we can consider its antiquated qualities while preserving its valuable insights into the culture of money. We live at a time of radical income inequality that is the source of great cruelty. Money is an idea and that idea is cultural. To admit that is to open the door to the idea that money can change. It need not be a source of suffering and, as Porter’s novel portends, can be a force for good.” Artist Illustrators ABOUT THE BOOK Art Direction by Christopher Kurts 278 pages, color illustrations Purchase the book in US dollars HERE. |