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The Alexander Hamilton Project

A celebration of the absurdity of money and the incessant desire to make it.
I have a fascination with money. A general disdain for how it controls people’s lives, but a fascination with it nonetheless. The monetary system itself is absurd. A dollar bill; a piece of paper that somehow serves as encouragement on how to live your life. A reward for specific behaviors or activities. Only it is not at all reflective of one’s work ethic, skill, creativity, or passion. There is no universal barometer for what work is more valuable. Capitalism, the free market, is what we use to gauge this, but it is inherently flawed as it is a tool for the rich to get richer, and by necessity, the poor to get poorer. It functions in cycles, resulting in times of excess and times of depression. To an extent, we can influence where we fall in this spectrum through the careers we pursue; some jobs are more profitable than others. But when someone neglects to choose a high-paying job in pursuit of other interests, the issue of money doesn’t go away. The world we live in, a world controlled by the monetary system, does not allow for this. Everyone is forced to answer a question that is more urgent than what will you do with your life or how will you contribute to the world. The more pressing question is how will you make money.

I have a fascination with money. A general disdain for how it controls people’s lives, but a fascination with it nonetheless. The monetary system itself is absurd. A dollar bill; a piece of paper that somehow serves as encouragement on how to live your life. A reward for specific behaviors or activities. Only it is not at all reflective of one’s work ethic, skill, creativity, or passion. There is no universal barometer for what work is more valuable. Capitalism, the free market, is what we use to gauge this, but it is inherently flawed as it is a tool for the rich to get richer, and by necessity, the poor to get poorer. It functions in cycles, resulting in times of excess and times of depression. To an extent, we can influence where we fall in this spectrum through the careers we pursue; some jobs are more profitable than others. But when someone neglects to choose a high-paying job in pursuit of other interests, the issue of money doesn’t go away. The world we live in, a world controlled by the monetary system, does not allow for this. Everyone is forced to answer a question that is more urgent than what will you do with your life or how will you contribute to the world. The more pressing question is how will you make money.

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WALL STREET - May 2011

WALL STREET - May 2011

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Portland, NW 2nd & Couch.

Portland, NW 2nd & Couch.

Charging Bull, Financial District, NYC.

Charging Bull, Financial District, NYC.

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George Washington Statue, Federal Hall, Wall Street, NYC.

George Washington Statue, Federal Hall, Wall Street, NYC.

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