Artist Statement

Pay Change 

Chloe Newton

I created this art with markers on a canvas. I decided to make a piece representing the unequal pay difference between men and women, and I came up with this idea. Using the materials that I wanted and what I decided to use, this was the product that I came to. This colorful piece depicts the difference in pay and the desired change. My goal is to have people know about the differences and for even a small shift in the two-cent gap to be made into equal pay.

My inspiration for this piece was a variation of things — I had always been interested in working rights, so I knew about the unfair payment for men and women, so this piece was in my head from the beginning. I learned that for every dollar that a man makes, a woman makes eighty-two cents. That is an eight-cent gap between them. So I thought and still think it is unfair just to be a man or a woman. 

After learning this, I saw a couple of different drawings and information on websites for when this amendment was violated, and I went through a few other designs when brainstorming what I should create before coming out with a rough version of this final part. There were many times when pay gaps were shown between men and women, even back in the 1800s, though it's improved. There were about four different drafts before the final design. The way it came out was more detailed than the others and more of my design rather than what others were displaying.

The art I've created encourages people to make a change and transform that two-cent difference between men's and women's pay to balanced and even. Even with only a two-cent difference, that adds up over time. The canvas was an excellent way to show it and that its colors and structure could potentially be a way to make a change in the world for workers, especially women.