Where does the gum go?

M. Mystery Artist’s Where does the gum go? is a conceptual and painterly masterpiece that uses many artistic styles to question society’s habit of irresponsible consumption. I love the thick impasto (in fact, chewing gum, not impasto—however, who is to say what impasto is or is not anyway?) that virtually bursts forth from the canvas to confront the viewer with a kaleidoscopic onslaught of color. I could not agree more with the message that we are locked in an endless cycle of consumption and subsequent waste (and I cannot imagine a more beautiful artistic rendering of this self-defeating practice than Where does the gum go?). However, there is one point I would take issue with M. Mystery Artist’s critique: for me, it puts too much blame on the consumer and not the companies that drive and make their consumption possible. Regardless of your interaction with this work, it encapsulates the greatest of art's functions; uses beauty to start a conversation we need to have.