The Corner Store of the $pectacle:
* Part art installation
* Part economic experiment
* Part situationist intervention
* Part economic experiment
* Part situationist intervention
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Dear Shopper,
Welcome to the Corner Store of the $pectacle, a new project at the Lancaster, PA based storefront studio Modern Art that blurs the boundaries between art, community, and the capitalist system. It’s a space that asks us to question the value we assign to ideas, creativity, and human connection in a world increasingly driven by efficiency and automation. The Corner Store of the $pectacle is a deeply personal reflection on the challenges and triumphs of pursuing a creative life in a world that often prioritizes profitability over compassion, automation over craft, and efficiency over beautiful meandering. Born from a moment of financial uncertainty and existential doubt, this project is a leap of faith, an experiment in using art to question, process, and transform. The 300+ hand-painted signs here are born from many hours of deliberate, purposeful inefficiency. An inefficiency that has created space for all kinds of contemplation, creativity, and ideas that otherwise might get lost in a pursuit of productivity or profit. Accompanying each sign is documentation of the circumstances surrounding its making—was I listening to Olivia Rodrigo? A book about the history of the Luddites? A podcast about AI? The sounds of traffic on Chestnut street? Was I thinking about humanoid robots? Descartes? What to make for dinner? Each brushstroke, each tiny variation, and each imperfection serves as a reminder that behind every work of art lies a story, a person, and a moment in time. |
But not only are the signs on the wall for sale, EVERYTHING in the studio is for sale.
Modern Art is set up as it is on any other day— as a working storefront studio with a graphic design business in the back— only now the everyday objects can all be yours in exchange for some cold hard cash (or credit, or check or venmo— whatever your monetary style). That pew you’re sitting on? It can be yours! That bucket of old chalk? Take it home. The very air you’re breathing? (I’m still working on a price for that.) Everything you purchase makes you part of the art, the conversation and part of the (Corner Store of the) $pectacle.
But what’s a good capitalist venture without a bit of mystery and speculation? Hidden beneath each sign is a tantalizing fragment of a secret message. What does it all mean? Money? Enlightenment? A map to a magic portal? Only time (and your purchases) will tell. As each sign finds a new home, the puzzle will slowly unravel, revealing its secrets to those curious enough to become part of the spectacle.
As you browse, dear consumer, consider what you value, as an individual, and as a community, and why. What determines value? How do we assign a monetary value to art, engagement, and the unknown in an increasingly automated, data and efficiency-driven society? The Corner Store invites us to question whether such a space can thrive in our current economic climate and challenges us to consider alternative ways of supporting creativity, surprise, mystery, and human connection.
With gratitude and hope,
Libby Modern
Modern Art is set up as it is on any other day— as a working storefront studio with a graphic design business in the back— only now the everyday objects can all be yours in exchange for some cold hard cash (or credit, or check or venmo— whatever your monetary style). That pew you’re sitting on? It can be yours! That bucket of old chalk? Take it home. The very air you’re breathing? (I’m still working on a price for that.) Everything you purchase makes you part of the art, the conversation and part of the (Corner Store of the) $pectacle.
But what’s a good capitalist venture without a bit of mystery and speculation? Hidden beneath each sign is a tantalizing fragment of a secret message. What does it all mean? Money? Enlightenment? A map to a magic portal? Only time (and your purchases) will tell. As each sign finds a new home, the puzzle will slowly unravel, revealing its secrets to those curious enough to become part of the spectacle.
As you browse, dear consumer, consider what you value, as an individual, and as a community, and why. What determines value? How do we assign a monetary value to art, engagement, and the unknown in an increasingly automated, data and efficiency-driven society? The Corner Store invites us to question whether such a space can thrive in our current economic climate and challenges us to consider alternative ways of supporting creativity, surprise, mystery, and human connection.
With gratitude and hope,
Libby Modern
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Corner Store Accounting
For the past six months, I've been documenting every penny spent, every hour worked, every cup of coffee consumed in the name of art. It's all here, laid bare for your viewing pleasure. As you browse, I invite you to ponder the big questions. What determines value? How do we assign a monetary value to art, engagement, and the unknown in an increasingly automated, data and efficiency-driven society?
| Corner Store Accounting Full Poster.pdf |
The Corner Store of the $pectacle
Welcome to the Corner Store of the $pectacle, a new project at the Lancaster, PA based storefront studio Modern Art that blurs the boundaries between art, community, and the capitalist system. It’s a space that asks us to question the value we assign to ideas, creativity, and human connection in a world increasingly driven by efficiency and automation.
#1 Valued Customers
The 300+ hand-painted signs here are born from many hours of deliberate, purposeful inefficiency. An inefficiency that has created space for all kinds of contemplation, creativity, and ideas that otherwise might get lost in a pursuit of productivity or profit..
Photo credit: Jenny Schulder
Everything in Here is for Sale. Even this….
Modern Art is set up as it is on any other day— as a working storefront studio with a graphic design business in the back— only now the everyday objects can all be yours in exchange for some cold hard cash (or credit, or check or venmo— whatever your monetary style). That pew you’re sitting on? It can be yours! That bucket of old chalk? Take it home. The very air you’re breathing? (I’m still working on a price for that.) Everything you purchase makes you part of the art, the conversation and part of the (Corner Store of the) $pectacle.
Behind the Work of Art
Accompanying each sign is documentation of the circumstances surrounding its making—was I listening to Olivia Rodrigo? A book about the history of the Luddites? A podcast about AI? The sounds of traffic on Chestnut street? Was I thinking about humanoid robots? Descartes? What to make for dinner? Each brushstroke, each tiny variation, and each imperfection serves as a reminder that behind every work of art lies a story, a person, and a moment in time.
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