Chocolate Ice Cream Cone No. 1 | Original Pop-Realism Drawing by Mike Pitzer

Ice cream has always been one of those small pleasures that asks very little of us except to enjoy it before it melts.

A chocolate cone can bring back summer sidewalks, neighborhood ice cream stands, family outings, sticky hands, and the childhood urgency of trying to keep ahead of the drips.

The object is simple. The memories attached to it can span a lifetime.

That’s American Material Memory: ordinary pleasures become powerful memory triggers because they carry the people, places, and moments that surrounded them.

From the Artist:

My first four cones featured vanilla-flavored ice cream. I also did one specially because a friend from Algonac said she loved chocolate.

The memories behind each ice cream cone—and the girls I thought I might run into at the store—they were my kryptonite!