Art and Money: Andy Fishman Speaks

Affiance Financial’s Andy Fishman is more than just a financial advisor. It turns out he’s a talented speaker, as well.

Fishman took part in a panel discussion about the relationship between art and money at Banfill Locke Center for the Arts on Friday, June 22, 2012. The exhibition, “Medium of Exchange: The Art of Cash,” tackled the topic of money—for better or worse, a constant in peoples’ lives—through multi-media art.

For the show, artists interpreted their literal and conceptual ideas about money and its role in modern society through a variety of media. They took into account attitudes toward money in today’s rocky economic climate and America’s excessive national debt. Artists also examined the relationships between money and greed, success and power, stability and independence, and personal freedom and social inequality.

Ten Twin Cities artists took part in the gallery event: Alexa Horochowski, Caitlin Karolczak, Eric Lunde, Karen Searle, David Bartley, John Ilg, Rachel Breen, Beth Parkhill, Rob McBroom and Pete Dreissen. Artist and professional consultant John Schuerman curated the show. Works included Ilg’s image of a Rubik’s Cube depicting the painful process of looking for a job and Lunde’s life-like reproduction of an ATM machine as the source of more than just cold, hard cash.

A panel, or round table, discussion further examined art and money, including the positive and negative effects of capitalism. Panelists were chosen to represent both sides of the debate and included artists Rachel Breen and Rob McBroom, Schuerman, and Fishman, a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®) who has been in the financial industry for more than 17 years. They addressed provocative questions including: What is the role of the artist in our society’s dialogue about money, especially in times of economic turmoil? What is the role of business? of financial experts? If they can, where do artists and business people meet?

Panelists on the business side of the debate, including Fishman, were asked to answer thought-provoking questions such as: What parameters do you think define a healthy profit motive? What would you do differently regarding your business pursuits if you had access to unlimited capital? Other topics included the current recession, the widening gap between rich and poor in the United States, and the environmental impact of the middle-class lifestyle.

Banfill Locke Center for the Arts is located at 6666 East River Road in Fridley, and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. The gallery is free to the public.