Lindsay Starbuck

This print uses negative connotations of the word medieval to indicate what the American political movement Occupy Wall Street hoped to do to greed in the early 2010s. Artist Lindsay Starbuck employed the image of a medieval monk, clad in a plain brown habit, to speak to religious ideals of poverty. The monk’s speech bubble and his book, in Latin, state that “the love of money is the root of all evil.” 

The medieval period is commonly perceived as a time of both terrible punishments and pious poverty. Starbuck’s print depends on the viewer’s associations about the Middle Ages, and their willingness to apply those stereotypes to their vision of life today.  

–RN