artist's message

After World War II, the Greatest Generation built a new America. They embraced chrome and sharp angles. Everything was shiny, new, and distinctively modern. Now, the chrome is tarnished, and the rooftops bow under the weight of the post-modern world. The Greatest Generation’s masterpiece of modern culture is regarded as outdated and tacky; it’s kitsch … and it’s vanishing.

Although mid-century modern designs are appreciated by some contemporary subcultures, a mix of indifference and progress is surreptitiously eliminating mid-century modern artifacts from mainstream America. While the newest technology and conveniently located Starbucks can physically replace the relics of a modern America lost, when they’re gone, nothing will fill the cultural void. Save them — for yourself, for future generations, and for the legacy of the men and women of the Greatest Generation.

- maren leonard libonn

* The gas station in the light box photo on this page (formerly on South Grand Boulevard in St. Louis) was literally demolished so that a Starbucks could be built on the lot.