Mitchell Anderson uses existing objects and imagery in a body of work that explores contemporary and historical contradictions, humor, and tragedies of existence. In a broad multi-media practice, Anderson presents contemplative objects of collective hope and failure and questions the narrative capabilities and codes of the visual and physical. In an ongoing series, Anderson created red neon signs all presenting the word “join”. Each is presented in a different font, continuing Anderson’s ongoing interest in the sagas and content civilization embeds in even the seemingly smallest visual cues. Grabbed from posters ranging from a 1754 call for state unity designed by Benjamin Franklin to a 1990 stack piece by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, the neon works become beacons for open recruitment and teamwork temporarily freed from politics and history. In the context of an empty hotel room, the invitation becomes somehow ambivalent.