Obsessive Consumption

Obsessive Consumption: What Did You Buy Today? by Kate Bingaman-Burt is a collection of drawings of things she purchased every day since February of 2006 (you can see the blog here). Now, you have the illustration side of things, and looking at it that way makes it a really inspiring collection of artwork and determination (she drew something every day). But then you start to realize that this is a complex, multi-layered commentary on consumerism: “I make work about personal consumerism, market economies, guilt, joy, excess, more guilt, gifts, celebration, repetition, and the community of these shared experiences.” Sometimes she even shares drawings of her credit card statements, and then mocks her relationship with all these items. It’s a truly fascinating piece of work.