Mainstream Art and a walk down Memory Lane

As I browsed through some new magazines and books that were featuring mainstream art, I couldn’t help but think how younger generations are creating using so many familiar things. These were the everyday things that we were surrounded with growing up in the 50’s. I started remembering all those wonderful but simple shows that we watched on television. How by revisiting some of our old games that we played with, creative tools and resources that we used to create with, our art would naturally look very mainstream.

I love all the retro things in style now, they bring back memories of sitting in the kitchen with mom. Having cream cheese and jelly sandwiches made on Wonder Bread, with my bowl of soup. Creating lunches with my mom that looked just like the recipes out of my Campbell Soup Cookbook. Ah, the Campbell Soup kids...they made everything look so yummy and fun too.

I loved Ding Dong School, and Miss. Frances could have told me to do anything and I would have obeyed in total trust. I loved how interactive she was on all of her shows. You almost felt like she was talking just to you. I read that “On June 2, 2001, the Chicago chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences inducted Frances Horwich into its prestigious “Silver Circle”. She died in Scottsdale, Arizona on June 22, 2001 at the age of 94,” She was always so calm, no wonder she lived to such a wonderful old age.

Here is Miss Frances singing her song and showing off the Wheaties box with a blackboard on the back. I had forgotten how creative we were back in the day. If you scroll down to the bottom of my blog and pause the music for this post, you can hear the videos better.



I loved it when we used our Winky Dink screens to follow along on our Television sets as line drawings appeared for us to trace. I remember so well those green pieces of plastic that we placed on her televisions so that we could draw along with Jack Barry or sometimes finish our drawings later after the show was off the air. I know that I had my Winky Dink set, which cost 50 cents and included the screen, a cloth and a pack of special crayons. and I watched that show faithfully, and dreamed of being an artist someday.


Oh, and I just can’t forget Howdy-Doody time. "It's Howdy-Doody time, it's Howdy-Doody time...



Hey, look at those kids in the audience...they have on those hats that mainstream collage artists put on old photos. Hmmmm, I wonder. Well, I think I am totally inspired to go create some art with a new inspiration and Dear Internet, thanks for the memories.



The song for this post is Thanks For The Memories.