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Edie Bresler
"Unclaimed Tickets"

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Unclaimed Tickets (Rye, New York), 2013, Archival pigment print, courtesy of the artist

Artist Statement
I focus on "Main Street" America through the lens of state lotteries. Across the US, family-owned convenience and liquor stores are the largest group of retailers selling lottery tickets. Many owners are immigrants, while others are the third or fourth generation to run the family business. If owners sell a winning jackpot ticket they receive a bonus commission of $5000 to $500,000 depending on state rules. Every year hundreds of millions of dollars in winning tickets are unclaimed resulting in no bonus commission for the stores.

In lieu of higher taxes, state lotteries sell hope through hype. Whether you are pro, con or indifferent, your community relies on its share of lottery profits. My photographs are portraits of resilience, desire, seduction, and a changing American dream. I seek greater awareness and empathy for the people and places on the front line of this overlooked economy and the contributions they provide.

Artist Bio
Edie Bresler examines American values with a current focus on Main Street through the lens of state lotteries. Recent solo exhibitions include the Irene Carlson Gallery of Photography in California, the Boston Center for the Arts, and the Griffin Museum of Photography. Her work has been featured in Slate Magazine, Photo District News, Lenscratch, Business Insider, Esquire Russia, and on PBS Greater Boston. She gratefully acknowledges funding from the Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Somerville Arts Council and Simmons College Faculty Fund for Research. An Associate professor of practice at Simmons College, she also writes regularly for Photograph magazine.

 

 
 
 



 

 

 

 

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