Norman Rockwell Inspired

Building on the concept behind the book, In Search of Normal Rockwell's America by Kevin Rivoli, our class was assigned to find or create situations that conceptually or visually reflect the art of Norman Rockwell. As Rockwell himself and others have noted, Rockwell's body of work expresses emotions and situations from the real world and an idealized world that often conjures up a nostalgia for a simpler life. In addition, as the article on lisimedia.blogspot.com noted, Rockwell's art conveyed details and emotion -exagerated at times -  so that his audience could feel like it was "eavesdropping" on a moment or catching a glimpse of a story in progress.

I saw echoes of Rockwell's kinship, food, and freedom from want in the summer picnic of a contemporary group that likes to dress up in retro clothing. The group created its own "dining space" in an apple orchard by hanging flags and "setting a table" on a blanket.

Rockwell's hay ride captures innocent late summer or early autumn fun with friends. My photo is of a wagon load of folks heading off to pick apples in an apple orchard at Beak and Skiff Apple Orchard. I couldn't quite elicit the exuberant waves that Rockwell pictured.

This last Rockwell image shows a quintessential autumn activity - raking and getting ready to burn autumn leaves. It conveys a sense of time and seasons passing as well as a bond between older and younger generations. A couple of photos that I took stemmed from these ideas - a father and son coming back from picking apples and a father and daughter going to pick pumpkins.