Title:  “Art Is the Way Out”, 2004                                              

Artist:  Kathy LaFetra, Yakima, WA

The working title for this piece was Pleasantville, The Sequel: Revenge of the Luddites, a reference to both the movie about Pleasantville—a town with a very limited view of the world—and the historic Luddites, who raged against the Industrial Revolution. 

Here, the endless stack of computer disks and the colorless walls inside the box remind us how easy it is not to see beyond our desire for comfort. 

While technology lures us with its promise of ease and wealth, it is really nothing more than a small box that we willingly climb into, lulling us to sleep with its false gods of safety, security, and sameness. 

Art shows us what’s outside the box; it’s then up to us to break free and live a life of wakefulness.