“Please Take a Numb-er” is a site-specific installation that deals with the psychic numbing we experience in relation to world crises, and the obsession with consumerism as an avoidance/denial technique. This spiral-configured installation leads the audience towards ta central altar, where they are asked to participate by making an offering (writing down what they would like to have in their lives that they cannot buy). The piece is structured with paper-mache stanchions and ropes - signs at the top of each stanchion have hand-written messages: "I need a new pair of shoes," "Let's go to the movies," "Stop bugging me," etc. and the floor is covered with large, 3'sq. wooden wedges and shredded newspapers. The wedges have photocollaged images that mimic the front pages of newspapers, each illustrating a world problem with an accompanying headline. When the audience exits the spiral the text on the signage offers them alternatives to cynicism and despair. Exhibitions: Saddleback College Gallery, Mission Viejo, CA (1988); CSU Bakersfield Gallery, CA (1988); CSU Northridge Gallery, CA (1989), Central Coast Plaza, San Luis Obispo sponsored by Arternatives (1990) and the Walker Building sponsored by Public Corporation for the Arts in Long Beach (1991). Reviewed and discussed by Paul Von Blum and local newspapers.