Brian DePauli
Region: Midwest
My work is inspired by and questions American society’s live-to-work mentality. I am concerned with the cultural and environmental impact of this obsession, as well as the physical and mental health ramifications. In 1931, the economist John Maynard Keynes published a short essay, “Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren.” There he states that “by 2030 the standard of living would be dramatically higher; people, liberated from want (and without the desire to consume for the sake of consumption), would work no more than fifteen hours a week, devoting the rest of their time to leisure and culture.” My work envisions a world where his prediction has come true.