Putting complex political issues into the form of art sometimes falls on its face. But art’s unique power to personalize and make big issues specific can be a powerful asset. We were already big fans of the animation work of Beeple, but the latest, hand-animated digital creation is especially poetic. It’s an essay on consumption, and it doesn’t focus – as the news has – on the crisis itself. Instead, in watching the idea of shelter blown to absurd proportions, in simple graphics reminiscent of The Sims, it gets at a notion of consumer excess that goes well beyond just the immediate, topical news. It’s an urgent cry for simplicity.
subprime from beeple on Vimeo.
There’s also a fantastic score, and the composer actually calls our attention this. (Not surprisingly, it has spread virally online, but I had somehow missed it – and it’s definitely a don’t-miss.) Kyle Vande Slunt writes:
It’s called Subprime and is an animated musing on our current financial crisis. The tag line is: "Watch the American housing market spiral out of control".
The visuals were done using Cinema 4d and the sound design / music were done using Ableton Live 8.
Thanks to Kyle and Beeple. Inspiring stuff, indeed.