10.27.2006
Pretty Scary
Is she smiling, laughing, screaming, drugged, alive, amputated? These retro advertisements draw you into a brightly colored universe of monstrously happy people and grimly glorious optimism that, in its luxuriant insanity, simultaneously frightens and enthralls. And I'm not just saying that. Flipping through hundreds of these vertiginous images causes for me something other than pure hatred or disgust. They are utterly blissful, and I am drawn to that, too. I find myself at the unresolvable crux of ironic cynicism and unadulterated nostalgia. The images are like the slash between wonderful / terrifying.
