Most of us save receipts, particularly around the holiday shopping season. But artist Rachel Perry Welty collects them, along with other rubble from the great American shopping experience. She discovered art around the same time she became a mother, so it was natural that the materials around her – sales receipts, bar code stickers, twisty ties, aluminum foil, take-out Styrofoam containers – started to show up in her artwork. She affixes her congeries to a wall (like a photographer’s backdrop) and then covers herself with more of the same material to appear as if she’s being engulfed by the curated clutter. The final product is a self-portrait, or better: Self-portrait with Stuff.
On the other hand, Ms. Welty makes an effort to get rid of at least one possession every day–though only after it’s photographed and pasted into an album. She’s conservative with words, too. Every day, she writes exactly 140 characters (guess where?) that capture her daily life as an artist. We’re hoping she’ll soon go on a binge and need to write 2paragraphs.
