A marshmallow seems almost too ordinary to deserve remembering.
Yet ordinary is precisely where American Material Memory begins.
Marshmallows belong to campfires, hot chocolate, holidays, backyard gatherings, childhood treats, and the simple anticipation of something sweet.
The object itself is soft, temporary, and easily consumed. But the experiences surrounding it can last a lifetime.
From the Artist:
At the end of every Club Apache barbecue, the dads would build a small bonfire near the water, and all the kids would roast marshmallows.
Our sophisticated roasting equipment was a bent wire clothes hanger.
Looking back, I still wonder whether our parents realized that if you held one of those hangers in the fire long enough, the end would start glowing red.
Seriously. Metal. Fire. Kids.
What could possibly go wrong?
Somehow we survived. We were the generation that drank from garden hoses, played in the mud, and roasted marshmallows on wire hangers. But I still can't look at a marshmallow without seeing that fire by the water.
A marshmallow seems almost too ordinary to deserve remembering.
Yet ordinary is precisely where American Material Memory begins.
Marshmallows belong to campfires, hot chocolate, holidays, backyard gatherings, childhood treats, and the simple anticipation of something sweet.
The object itself is soft, temporary, and easily consumed. But the experiences surrounding it can last a lifetime.
From the Artist:
At the end of every Club Apache barbecue, the dads would build a small bonfire near the water, and all the kids would roast marshmallows.
Our sophisticated roasting equipment was a bent wire clothes hanger.
Looking back, I still wonder whether our parents realized that if you held one of those hangers in the fire long enough, the end would start glowing red.
Seriously. Metal. Fire. Kids.
What could possibly go wrong?
Somehow we survived. We were the generation that drank from garden hoses, played in the mud, and roasted marshmallows on wire hangers. But I still can't look at a marshmallow without seeing that fire by the water.
Image 1 of 4
Image 2 of 4
Image 3 of 4
Image 4 of 4