Emily Erb [MFA ‘12] contemplates American values and ideals in American Love Story. Her silk paintings are created using an Eastern technique she learned in Madagascar in 2005. By combining this ancient silk painting tradition with imagery often collected from American paper currency, Erb investigates the tension between authoritative Western ideals and America’s ethnic and racial diversity.  She argues, “There is no ‘American culture’ per se, it’s not hamburgers. The beauty of America is immigration.”