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When You Only Have Two Pennies Left In the World, Buy A Loaf of Bread With One, and A Lily With the Other

Oil, acrylic, spray paint, pencil, tissue paper, UV resin, pennies, polycrylic and baked bread in box frame

18 x18 x 4 in / 45.7 x 45.7 x 10.2 cm

1997

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After the Storm, the Sunshine: A Group Exhibition — ABA Gallery - Atlanta, GA - 1998

“When you only have two pennies left in the world, buy a loaf of bread with one, and a lily with the other." This proverb serves as the conceptual foundation of my work, reflecting the interplay between survival and the pursuit of beauty. Contained within a handmade orange box structure, this piece invites the viewer into a meditation on human duality, scarcity, and transcendence.

 

The two reflective paintings of lilies represent the search for beauty, purity, and the enduring nature of hope. Lilies, long symbols of spiritual awakening and enlightenment, offer a dialogue between life’s ephemeral nature and the eternal drive for something beyond survival. Their mirrored placement in this work suggests that beauty and meaning are not static, but reflections—subjective, shifting, and deeply intertwined with our perspective.

 

Below and above these lilies lie bisected loaves of bread. Bread, the "staff of life," symbolizes physical sustenance, grounding the viewer in the material world. By splitting the loaves, I emphasize the fragility of existence, the idea that even our survival is incomplete without a balance with the spiritual and aesthetic. The bread’s position in relation to the lilies echoes the philosophical need to reconcile our material needs with our desire for transcendence.

 

In this piece, small masses of pennies—collected from streets, parking lots, restaurants, and even trains—are randomly stacked in two distinct areas. These found pennies, often discarded and overlooked, carry the weight of both scarcity and choice. They reflect the unpredictability of life and the small, often unconscious decisions we make between material need and the desire for beauty. As this work evolves with the continual addition of more pennies, the concept of time and accumulation becomes central, highlighting the fluid nature of our priorities as we move through different phases of life.

 

The ongoing addition of these pennies transforms this work into a living piece, echoing the changing circumstances in which we must constantly make the choice between bread and lilies. As more pennies are found, collected, and placed, this artwork embodies the human experience: a process of accumulation, reflection, and the delicate balance between survival and spiritual fulfillment.

 

In an "End of World" context, this piece also stands as a testament to the endurance of both the body and the soul. The bisected bread may symbolize a fractured, finite existence, but the lilies—ever reflective and pure—suggest a persistent desire for hope and beauty even in the face of scarcity or decay. The pennies, small remnants of forgotten moments, act as a testament to life's fleeting materialism, while their accumulation over time points toward the persistence of both survival and meaning.

 

Ultimately, "Two Pennies, Bread, and Lilies" is a reflection on humanity’s perpetual balancing act. It asks: in times of scarcity, what choices define us? And how do we find harmony between the physical and the spiritual, even as the world around us changes?​​

© 1977-2025 Copyright | Thomas Arthur Schaefer | All Rights Reserved

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