I drove the mother road home to the promised land

In my most recent shows I have been tracking notions of "American Spirit" (by that I mean: how do we or can we truly define what it means to be an American) through our shared cultural landscape. I've been looking for evidence of truly defining moments of that Spirit in everything from folk art and music, to literature, monuments, native cultures, and now with this show at Art Palace Route 66 and it's importance. Route 66 has been a main artery of movement for this country for along time, it's roots trace back to wagon trails and now it vaguely manifests itself as Interstate 40. It represents a tangible way to reach our manifest destiny; we can follow it from Chicago right up to the Santa Monica pier. But more than that it represents a divide of contrasts: for some it provided hope and potential for those seekers who were looking for something better, it could always be over the next hill or horizon. For others it was a bitter road that led them away from their homes towards unfriendly times and people. Still for others it was a road that signified the liberation the automobile and rock n roll brought. And still again, it is a road that once brought business to small town America, that now Big time America has re-routed it's self on by. So my show is an investigation into the signs, words, and dreams of route 66.