Susan Hamburger

How Much Do I Owe You

These bay structures, formerly the area where the bank tellers worked, reminded Hamburger of the small chapels situated along the sides of Gothic cathedrals.  The collision between bank and cathedral, with the obvious “worship of money”, brought to mind artist Florinne Stettheimer’s paintings “Cathedrals of New York,” specifically “Cathedral of Wall Street,” which became a jumping off point and the title for this current installation.

Hamburger’s painted collage panel paintings with ironic classical motives investigate the relationship between Wall Street and the Greek debt crisis. The installation prompts us to consider our relationship to power structures that control the growth or lack of growth of our money and the faith that we put into financial institutions.

The outer columns with faux molding and capitals reference the partially hidden architectural details at the top of the walls of the old structure of this building which in the 1970’s were covered by sheet rock to bring banks down to a more human and generic scale. The bench centered in the space is for quiet contemplation.