The American Imagination: A Survey of Myths, Tall Tales and Legends in the United States visualizes a wide variety of American stories in 15 chapters touching on all regions of the country. Manufactured images depicting regional myths, legends or tall tales exist alongside thematically related documentary-style portraits, scenes and landscapes, allowing for a tentative bridge between fantastical imaginings and reality. Stories with fantastical elements always contain fragments of truth, holding history, fears, hopes and aspirations of a people; the fantastical allows for hyperbole in celebrating triumphs and provides a buffering analgesic effect in making sense of dark tragedies.
Visit the dedicated project website at www.americanimagination.com .
Pictured: Inaugural exhibition of the in-progress project at LightSource SF, featuring the chapter that considers the Roswell UFO Incident, exploring how the world's first detonation of the nuclear bomb gave rise to enduring UFO myths in the area.