American dreamers

This catalogue triggers a reflection on one powerful aspect of American contemporary art in the United States, where from September 11, 2011 through the current financial crisis a sense of invulnerability and of social or economic safety have been increasingly put in doubt.
Since the Fifties, many American artists have critiqued the dream of the promise of ever increasing success and happiness, and material bounty as a way of life, consistently fuelled by Hollywood imagery and the advertising campaigns of corporations like Disney and Coca Cola. Today the American dream seems to be in crisis. Yet a sense of optimism, a capacity for creative imagination, and the willingness to believe in happily ever after remain crucial to the American self-image.
American artists of different generations reflect these impulses in their work, creating a sort of retreat from reality, a refuge in alternate worlds that are safe and, above all, controllable. These works are based on an aesthetics defined by fantasy and dream images, by fairytale creatures or images taken from the media, as well as actual parallel worlds. High unemployment, global financial pessimism, and apocalyptic predictions for the environment are too threateningly real for our real world, and so all around us are those who seek escape in fantasy.
Following the mission of the Centre for Contemporary Culture Strozzina, American Dreamers intends to trigger a reflection upon the current discussions about the present state of our society as we witness it today not aiming for ultimate solutions or answers but providing a platform for critical reflection and debate within a cultural context.