Will Steacy

The past 30 years have been devastating for the American worker, leaving a once vibrant middle class financially paralyzed, as the majority of Americans today no longer believe the American Dream is attainable.  Down These Mean Streets is a 175 foot long collage that tells the story of the American Dream through the eyes of the forgotten, those who have been left behind in the ashes of the Great Recession—those who played by the rules all their lives only to be told they were no longer needed, their job could be done cheaper somewhere else, those who have been left without any options, those who have watched the promise of the American Dream disappear right before their eyes.  This visual narrative offers a close examination of the American journey within the past 4 years and the events from the past century that led us here: the post-WWII manufacturing prosperity from 1947-1974, the economic policies of the Reagan administration and the impact of business deregulation, privatization and massive cuts in non-military domestic discretionary spending, and, finally, how September 11th shattered the notion of American invincibility and instilled fear throughout the nation.