Looking for America

Diffusion Symposium

The very idea of America has come to be seen from abroad as a mythic power, symbolising deeply held aspirations, desires and fears. In America itself, the promise of increased prosperity and upward mobility has drawn millions there from around the world and fuelled rapid urban, economic and technological growth and the birth of a new consumer culture. America’s cultural influence overseas has been immense, with even the most remote corners of the world becoming new frontiers for the marketing of American music, food, sport, film, television and lifestyles.

However, in a post-9/11 world and period of widespread economic recession, the vaunted American Dream, the belief that life will get better, that progress is inevitable if we obey the rules and work hard, and that material prosperity is assured, has been replaced by a hard and bitter truth. Antipathy towards the United States' political and military involvement overseas, the toxic combination of corporate abuse, educational under-achievement, societal division and injustice, with the attendant economic meltdown, has tarnished America's national image and self-belief, perhaps irreparably.

Exhibiting artists Todd Hido, Will Steacy, Jeff Brouws, Stacy Kranitz, Julian Germain and Hillerbrand+Magsamen discuss the issues behind their work and the current status and meaning of the American Dream.