We Are The World
We Are the World (Reprise), 2005. Audio, 4:54, featuring the voices of Choire Sicha, Jennifer Dalton, Eric Heist, Jonathan Ames, Patrick Bucklew, Adam Ames, Andrew Bordwin, Cindy Workman, Joy Garnett, Eliot Shepard, Courtney Tramposh, Greg Allen, Lily Mazzarella, Cynthia Nelson, Maggie Nelson, Jennie Portnof, and Nina Katchadourian.
Choire Sicha curated an exhibition at Clementine Gallery in 2005 entitled Regarding Clementine that explored “the discomforts and joys of the art industry, the life of artists, the practices of curation and creation, and the ugly-pretty evolution of West Chelsea itself.” Every artist made new works for the exhibition. Troubled by the number of artists I knew who couldn't afford health insurance, I decide to do a fundraiser modeled on the famous 1985 fundraiser anthem “We Are the World.” This song, written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones, raised more than $80 of humanitarian aid in response to the famine in Ethiopia. More than 20 million physical copies of the song sold.
Scaling this down somewhat, I invited the curator, the gallerist, and all the artists in the show to come to my studio and sing over a karaoke track of the “We Are the World.” In the spirit of the original, I edited together a version where every voice takes a part and then joins together in a huge, rousing chorus. The gallery sold a limited edition CD with the song and these sales raised enough money for health insurance for one artist for one year. Any artist could enter an open lottery to win. At the closing reception we drew the name of the winner, who later reported to me that having health insurance finally allowed him to be able to afford psychotherapy.