Freedom from Want. That's the name of this painting and also one of the Four Freedoms spoken by Franklin D. Roosevelt during a state of the union address. Norman Rockwell's famous work was featured in a 1943 issue of The Saturday Evening Post accompanying an essay about Roosevelt's Four Freedoms. Thanksgiving just passed and the holiday always digs into my memory bank and spits out this image.I remember sitting in a large lecture hall, which was actually an auditorium with a large stage and projection screen for university-related events. My art history class was held in this room.
It was early in my college years. I was an interior architectural design student, taking elective classes and minoring in English literature. That meant I'd pull at least two all-nighters each week, alternating between trying to complete an essay, read several plays or novels, and work on time-consuming drafting, model-work, or 2D design projects.
I sat in that auditorium, listening to the final review and looking at slides, sleep-deprived after a couple of days of staying up and finishing projects/essays for finals week. The Norman Rockwell slide appeared on the screen. The class wrote down who did the painting, what year it made and its cultural significance. I stared at the painting, unable to absorb any of the information being spoon-fed to me, and instead started hallucinating from sleep deprivation, like Salvador Dali liked to do. The grandmother and grandfather had an evil glow around them, sneering at the turkey and their grandchildren. The grandchildren and family members vibrated, as if they were in a hurry to receive their portion. This was the decline of America, people were on the advent of consumerism and greediness. I held onto my chair's arms and waited for the slide to change.
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