Designing Distance — Nevada Humanities

By Mark Salinas

Measuring the amount of space between objects has been occupying my mind, again. It seems everyone has dusted off the old home sewing machine and has committed bobbins and pinking shears to at-home Project Runway challenges, creating facemasks for friends, family, and even strangers.

Meanwhile, other at-home designers with lesser mechanical dexterity are satisfied with the simple accomplishment of a quick overhand knot bestowed upon a cut-up tee shirt. Like a one-hit rock star with a Sharpie and a stack of glossy headshots needing signed, these efforts will get the job done quickly, over and over again, although not quite as collectable.

From Carson City to Chicago, even statues and sculptures are now wearing these masks. Among all the styles, colors, patterns available, facemasks are the new must-have lifestyle accessory no trend forecaster expected us to need or want. Will facemasks become commonplace portable billboards in our society, marketing this and that, I wonder? Imagine your sock drawer full of them!

And within this new visual language of self-expressing stitches and sloppy knots, my own obsessions and recollections arise.

With begrudging gratitude to past instructors and employers in the fashion industry, facemasks that end up in my hands unfortunately go through a quality control test from hell. I inspect for straight, unwavering stitching, the architectural perfection of folds, and the precision of crisp, ironed edges. You can imagine what a joy I am to shop for!

Even though we are weeks into #StayHomeforNevada, my mind continues to drift, seeking an emotional reference point among all these facemasks being worn and all the change happening. I wish my mind would simply rest with recollections of Black Rock Desert dust storms at camp 7:30B back in 2018, but instead it nestles into 2001 again and again. I see the puff of aerial impact at 9:03 a.m. and the exhale of architectural collapse in New York City’s Financial District at 9:59 a.m. I recall the wind blowing black confetti across the East River as I walk home from work.

Any amount of distance between family and friends that day caused fear, anxiety, and confusion. And just as quickly, as communities and states convened to console us, other parties, fueled by anger and aggression, sought to increase the divide between peoples. Some elected officials sought to redefine American patriotism by trying to change the name of ‘French fries’ to ‘freedom fries.’ There were response moments both noble and ugly that we will ‘never forget.’

Now, as a society of ‘artists-in-residence,’ we are actively designing the acceptance of future social patterns and life styles in this challenging time. Our post-pandemic future will be based upon how we collectively uphold social responsibilities among proclaimed liberties. We must hold accountable those whose unethical behavior seeks to intimidate and threaten. We must speak truth unselfishly and expect that in our leaders.

In the years to come, our actions and words will be recalled and reminisced. They may even be relived. Let us ‘never forget’ the difference between distance and divide.

Double Down blogger image credit/Mark Salinas

Mark Salinas is the Director of Art & Culture for Carson City and the recipient of the 2019 Nevada Humanities Rising Star Award.