Art For Everyone... That Means You

By Justin Sondak in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 23, 2007 4:50PM

The Micromentalists have a devastatingly simple idea: make art affordable to everyone. Combining the best elements of progressive economies and hucksterism, the artists participating in this weekend's shows at Fifty50 Gallery and Butchers Shop Dogmatic are pricing their work to move. If you make $7 an hour, you can walk out with a $7 painting. Legal and corporate types billing $150 an hour pay $150 for the same work.

Thinking big by thinking small, the Micromentalists cut through the pretensions of the modern art scene to restore the human scale. Much of the work is small, you can even purchase a tiny fraction of a photograph. Movement founder Patrick W. Welch, whose beautifully misanthropic miniature hate paintings sell at traditional art market prices, is certain you'll have a good time. In the show's release he promises: "If you don't think this is the best show you've seen for years, I'll pay for your bus ride home."

The Micromentalists art show is at Fifty50 Gallery, 1017 W. Lake St., tonight from 6 - 10 p.m. and Butcher Shop / Dogmatic, 1319 W. Lake St., Saturday from 6 - 10 p.m.