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An artist named Meg Webster is showcasing “Food Stamp Table” at Miami’s Art Basel in the Paula Cooper Gallery and the minimalist art comments on something we already know--people living on food stamps have it hard. If we didn’t know it by now, we knew it when the House passed the heartless bill to cut the food stamp programs by $4 billion.

In the above photo of Meg’s piece, you’ll see $4.60 worth of food– one can of Campbell’s soup, one egg, one head of broccoli and one pack of Ramen noodles. Meanwhile, Meg’s piece as art and not $4.60 worth of food is being sold as an artwork for $12,000!

 

I’m sure you can’t read the text on the wall from here, so allow me to do you a favor and provide it for you. I think it’s the text that makes this artwork so expensive.

“On November 1, 2013 the 2009 Recovery Act’s boost to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits ended, resulting in cuts to every SNAP household. It’s the equivalent of taking away 21 meals per month.”

I appreciated Meg’s art for being raw and honest, but having something like this make such a gross profit is disgusting. You mean to tell me the single mother who can barely make it to work so she can feed her kids could put all she has in her cabinet on her shabby kitchen table and sell it to some cultured and wealthy fool for $12,000?

Meg’s website claims that she is “a sculptor who makes minimal art with natural materials to be directly perceived by the body. Some works are to be entered. Some works are planted.” Meg is not new to the art game. Her impressive resume boasts almost 30 years of experience, collections in Guggenheim Museum and commissioned art all around the country. I respect her work, but I don’t understand how and why someone could pay so much money for someone’s real life struggle?

What do you think of this art? Answer our poll below:

Food Stamp Table: A Struggling Family’s Grocery List Sells For $12K At Art Basel In Miami  was originally published on hellobeautiful.com