Landscape pt. II

"Space and structure are knowable; no field is so vast as to preclude visual bounding, no barn too high to distort close scrutiny.  Nothing dwarfs the observer fortunate enough to find vestiges of landscape, and nothing stuns his capacity to see"(Stilgoe 345). 

This quote from Stilgoe's Common Landscape of America 1580-1845 is a reflection of the importance of location I mentioned in my last posting, and also draws further upon the idea of the American dream as it pertains to Americans today.   Stilgoe is asserting that American landscape contains as much an element of what one can imagine as what one can easily see.   This has been true throughout history as the very industrialization of America which Stilgoe mentions began with the visions of those who looked beyond their immediate setting and saw what others could not.   This idea of innovation and personal growth has become a tenant of American life, and yet one finds that "surviving vestiges of landscape, and repeated attention directed at them, reinforce old, traditional American values"(Stilgoe 344).  This spoke to me as I thought about America's transformation from an agricultural nation to one of industry and business.   We move forward in most aspects of life, and yet cling to ideas of ownership, beauty, and in effect personal growth from our nation's early years.   A large part of the "typcial American dream" described by Cullen in his American Dream concerns ownership, and ownership is in effect the ability to manipulate and control one's own landscape.  So the years have passed, and yet such a fundamental portion of Americans' idea of freedom is centered in an idea begun years ago.  

Another quote from the reading which stood out to me was found in the same section of the reading.  Stilgoe claims that,"Much of the contemporary American love of landscpe derives, of course, from the Christmas-card-like advertisements repeatedly presented on television and in magazines"(Stilgoe 344).  This reminded me of Rockwell's posters on FDR's freedoms.   We had earlier discussed why we felt that the posters made such an impact whereas other artists depicting the same ideas did not resonate as well with the American public.  In a sense, I think that it can all tie into this same idea of landscape.   We seek a setting for our lives which is content and interesting, and set our goals upon the beauty of the past.   It is held in a sort of reverence: the dreams and ideal of a bygone era clinging to today's Americans.   It is perhaps why the idea of the "Golden American Life" has not died.   But perhaps it is also why many Americans are dissatisfied with their lives, feeling themselves unable of reaching the American dream complete with white picket fence. 

Professor Lagerquist mentioned in her blog that approximately half of Americans believe that the American dream still holds true.  Perhaps that in order for the other half to regain their belief in this quintessential American hope, America needs to change its mental landscape to a concept slightly less rooted in an ideal which is no longer true for most people.