"The car has become the carapace, the protective and
aggressive shell, of urban and suburban man.” ~ Marshall McLuhan
I could tell you some stories about my travels from here to there, but there's really not enough room and we'd all question whether they were relevant. With this week's IF challenge, we're traveling back a few years to a public art project that was installed around the newly renovated downtown, a series of banners that depicted local artists' views of life in Vista, California. This was my contribution, the view of the busy road from behind chain link, slightly glamorized so as not to fully reveal my tongue in cheek intentions and play on my town's name. As luck would have it, they installed this in front of my favorite ice cream haunt, so I softened my attitude a bit and went out for a "soft serve."
Eventually, another highway project replaced the increasingly battered chain link fence with a concrete barrier topped with something a little more durable, so this piece is now an unofficial artifact, perhaps just a bit like the person who painted it!
