AS A 28-YEAR-OLD art student, Thomas Gokey convinced the Federal Reserve to give him bags of shredded currency worth $49,983, the exact amount of his ballooning student loan debt. He pulped the scraps, turned the paste into four enormous sheets of paper, and began offering piecemeal sales-$4.22 a square inch.
In 2011, when the artwork was accepted in an annual competition-the American Idol of art, as Gokey describes it-that had been founded by the son of billionaire heir (and future Education Secretary) Betsy DeVos, he saw another shot at paying off the debt. Buyers had been scarce, but his project sparked conversations with other debtors. Anthropologist David Graeber had just published his opus on the topic; Gokey found it a secret decoder ring unveiling how debt enshrined divides of gender, race, and class.
The week of the contest, Gokey weighed joining an upcoming protest against economic inequality that he'd heard was planned for a small park near Wall Street. But he trekked off to Michigan for the competition, and quickly regretted it. I was still thinking of this as an individual problem, he says. Instead of joining the occupation from day one, like I should have done, I went to Betsy DeVos' art fair and tried to sell my debt.
His artwork, Total Amount of Money Rendered in Exchange for a Masters of Fine Arts Degree to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Pulped into Four Sheets of Paper, failed to win prizes or garner enough sales to make any real dent in Gokey's debt. Within days, he and his sleeping bag were on a Greyhound bound for the Occupy Wall Street uprising.
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the {{IssueName}} edition of {{MagazineName}}.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
WHEN IN DROUGHT
This obscure yet adaptable grain could be a healthy staple for a warming planet.
GLOBAL WARNING
Why Project 2025 is an environmental catastrophe in the making
BAD HABITS
A spate of recent horror movies recycle tired tropes about nuns-and reveal society's ongoing discomfort with independent women.
Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.
Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.
THE ARCHITECT
TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.
Losing Faith
As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.
GOD'S COUNTRY
These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.
IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHER
How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender
KILL THE MESSENGER
The anti-disinformation field is retreating under attack.
TRUMPNESIA
To get a second chance, Trump needs voters to forget his disastrous presidency.