In an era of industrial revolution Henry Ford made a name for himself by introducing the assembly line and rethinking the culture of a business. The "Five Dollar Day" was a pioneering idea that focused on the livelihood of Ford's employees. It was a first step in realizing the value that motivated individuals bring to a business and the importance of developing a proud company culture.
In 1913 Ford needed a workforce of 14,000 people, but with the harsh conditions of factory work and minimal wage earnings, Ford found employee retention difficult as he went through 52,000 people in just one year. In order to keep production on pace with the high demand of the Model T, Ford needed to make a change.
Ford developed a plan that kept wages at the same $2.30 per day but offered a daily bonus of $2.70 to all employees who worked hard and maintained a healthy lifestyle outside of the workplace. The new Five Dollar Day dominated headlines all over the country. It's purpose was to improve employee satisfaction and maintain a functioning, motivated workforce. It represented a major shift in the way managers approached running a business. Rather than viewing workers simply as a business expense Ford realized that the success of his company depended on the success of every individual employee. Ford's revolutionary ideas changed the world.
As Tim Huhn's Art Deco stylized murals are centered around the themes of hard work and achievement, Tim wanted to pay tribute to Ford, an American Titan that changed the landscape of industry forever. Tim's incredibly detailed and striking painting exemplifies the spirit of Ford's "The Five Dollar Day" and the optimism of American Muscle. For those of us that are drawn to Tim Huhn's art deco series, there's a freedom to this piece that speaks to the sense of hard-work and achievement, the idea of knowing what you're working for and not compromising. For those of us that see that there's always room for change and improvement in the world, we're inspired by Tim's art because in the face of great change there is most certainly a fear of failure, but we must intimidate fear with a strong and unrelenting work-ethic. This piece stands for something, it stands for the morality by which we work!
