The epic tug of war between the forces of progression or regression will always be with us. Before the kook was given the keys to the kingdom, it seemed as if progress was winning out. But instead, the forces of regression combined with a general sense of apathy to make the jerk backward as jarring as possible.
This too shall pass? Maybe, or maybe it won’t.
If we’re going to behave this way—keep out immigrants, make it hard for people vote, make it easier for businesses to pollute, and generally give all the breaks to very rich people who already are doing extraordinarily well—what is the point of all this? This American experiment in freedom and self-determination, this “American Dream.”
What America Needs
America needs to look forward if it truly wants to be great. It needs to embrace change because that’s how anything is able to evolve and stand the test of time.
America needs a sustainable, clean energy future so we all don’t choke on our own dirty sludge. But we can’t because one side insists global warming is a hoax.
We need a robust, modern democracy so our society can work for as many people as possible. But we can’t because one side is fighting to keep marginalized groups from voting.
We need to provide health care for all our citizens so everyone can live a healthy life to its fullest potential and not end up bankrupt. But we can’t because one side refuses to do anything with health care that involves the biggest player: the United States government.
We need a culture that puts people’s lives above gun rights. We need to establish full gender equality and close all the gaps that need closing: wage, opportunity, achievement, etc. And to do all that we need to have a real discussion with the many, many voices in America. This requires having at least two (maybe more) political parties in our government who are serious about governing in present-day reality.
Down on the Corner of Repeal and Republican
In the year and many months Obamacare was worked on, with all the hearings, all the testimony, all the speeches, all the effort to make concessions to Republicans, still not a one of those know-nothings supported it. Instead, they stalled and whined and attacked relentlessly. In the years since its passage, they have shouted “repeal” at every opportunity. They kept shouting all the way until they actually had the chance to repeal the law but instead, thankfully, Republicans were more interested in shouting rather than legislating.
Little White Sticks
– My latest on Medium about a meal –
The meal takes place behind the parking lot of a fast food joint. A chicken place, like KFC. From a distance, hiding in the bushes, Man-at-Arms, Teela, and Gwildor snag a tub of chicken wings with the help of a grappling hook type of tool. Shoot out the hook, latch onto the tub, and pull in the target.
On Weirdos
Working with kindred spirits and other creative folks who are a little weird has been great practice for dealing with client relationships, especially ones that can be more challenging. You get comfortable with communicating ideas, fusing different perspectives, and seeking out honest feedback to make the final, realized idea the best it can be.
Ed Ruscha at the Joslyn
In regards to the artwork BARNS AND FARMS, what about this piece sparks my interest? My answer is as follows:
You’re telling me about something that you’re not showing me. With two layers presented in a square, a square that would feel very-much-at-home on an Instagram feed, I’m moved by the vibrant colors of a big sky as well as the purity of machined, white type.
The horizon line of blackened land at the base of the work anchors and helps to let me know just how small I am. The golden sunset (or is it a sunrise?) gives me a cue to close up shop for the evening (or to get ready for the day).
As an advertisement, there’s a cadence I like. Chop-chop, barns and farms. Let’s kick the tires and light the fires. I didn’t live on a farm growing up, but I visited the one where my grandparents lived often. I’ve seen this scene thousands of times driving on the gravel county roads of Nebraska. I didn’t need a message to entice me there, I was there already.
As a moment in time, with the clouds frozen in place, it causes me to pause and to recall the smell of those massive, wooden structures called barns. The dirt floors, the hay bales, the musty interior of the vehicles parked there. Things stored inside were protected, sort of. Things stored inside had value, monetarily speaking. The barn was a key part of the working farm operation.
People lived on farms, but they were there to work. Sunrise to sunset, constantly doing some form of labor. Gotta do the chores, grow the crops, and tend to the animals. You eat, sleep, and procreate so you can do those work things better, more efficiently.
As nostalgia, there’s love in that square. Memories of family. As history, there’s mixed emotions in that square. A country feeding itself and also causing a great big dust bowl. Prosperity and livelihood for the working man and then the corporations squeezing them out with monoculture. The freedom and good nature of rural America now with declining populations, economic insecurity, immigrant tension, drug crisis, and an often referenced part of one side in the country’s deepening divide.
I’m in a car when I’ve seen this scene. I’m moving and feeling the freedom of the open road. But I’m also a little scared. Because I don’t want to stop. I don’t want to break down and have to venture onto a farm for help. There might be a big dog. There might be a suspicious farmer with a gun. It might be where I’m knocked unconscious and wake up in a dark basement. It’s there I’m plumped up over a few weeks and then turned into soup for a very traditionalist family of cannibals. Seen that movie?
And I feel anxious. Like I get with most advertisements these days. I like the beautiful presentation of type over image but am also unsettled with the unspoken outcomes that could lie beneath. That’s not Ed’s fault. Na, that’s just advertising.
