Before the move I started working on some new pieces, I talked about them in my previous post. This week I was thinking about the 50th anniversary of the Cuban Missile crisis, which is coming up very shortly. Now keep in mind that I was only two at the time, so most of what I know is not from personal experience but from history class. Still I had this thought, and wanted to throw a couple of things together just to see what I would come up with. I do like the direction it's going, but I think I need to go a little deeper. I am a little stuck, so if you would indulge me I would like to work out my thoughts in public; so to speak.
I know there's something here, I just need to thinking this through. There was a real since of a pending war with the Soviet's and it was going to start just 90 miles from American soil. Tensions and fear were high and the cold war was in full swing. The crisis introduced the concept of mutual assured destruction (MAD) as a deterring factor for all things relating to nuclear weapons and it has become a part of the to American vocabulary. There needs to be something that can tie in the American family into the image a little more!? Since I am working with images of American cars as the unifying factor in this series of works, I may want to use a 1962 Station Wagon. Now, keep in mind that October is not only the month the crisis took place, but it used to also be the month when all the new model year cars were in the showrooms. This is something I do remember form my earliest years, like the leaves changing colors in the fall, you could always count on the fact that the new cars would be out in October. And the family car of choice in 1962, was the station wagon! There were just as many station wagons on the road then as there are SUV's today. I think if I also work in idyllic sense of family or family life into the collage I believe I will start to see my vision for this piece come into focus.
Thanks for allowing me to work out my ideas, this has been helpful to think out loud. As always, look forward to comments. I am hoping to get back to a week posting again now that the dust has settled.
