An Suburbian Visit -- Elise Meservy

"This is Valerie's world in miniature. She makes it what she wants it to be..."

The "Suburbs" of Bill Owens' Suburbia show. reminded me of an eerie mix between the uniform houses in the book A Wrinkle Through Time and the American Dream.

I have this theory that Bill Owens just started taking pictures one day while living in his new Suburbian house and trying to pick up a hobby like the rest of his neighbors. These Photos were the start of his findings for this exhibit. As we developed these photos and grew more unhappy with the money and conformity of his living condition, he found satirical and yet somber ways to describe the photos.

I agree with somebody else who said that his art would not be complete without his words. Unlike the ads we saw in class on Tuesday which did not need copy, Owens' work is complete and stellar because of the simplistic photo/copy combination.

His Descriptions were creative. His connecting you to the people in his photos was creative. And his telling you of their story in few words was creative.

As I went through this exhibit, I did not stand back and turn my head in contemplation. Rather, I stood close and tried to breathe in the Suburbian World myself.

Some of my favorites were:
1. The Lady Watering the flowers in the Garden toilet that they brought back from their bar.
2. The black man carrying the trash can on his back, clamoring about how people throw out a lot of good things.
3. The Dad cleaning his pool that he had just bought for his family and which no one wants to take care of.
4. The woman with the dirty dishes who comes up with the excuse that she cannot possibly worry about dishes while there are people dying in Vietnam.

After moving to a new apartment with all my junk and going through this exhibit, I feel like I have less of a desire for obtaining material things and more of a desire for exploration, learning, and relationships.

Has American become too materialistic? Is that the American dream?