I am not sure what prompted Lucia to snap this photo but I love it.
Susan says, “This sign has seen better days, but its message still has power: ‘War. What is it good for. Absolutely nothin.” I remember “War”, a number one hit in 1970 at the height of the Vietnam War. Along with Country Joe and the Fish and other rock singers at the time, Motown singer Edwin Starr became a spokesperson for the anti-war movement. This sign is battered and defaced enough for me to believe it was painted 40 years ago. It bears some stylists traits of the time: the red, white and blue colors, the haphazard, hand written letters, the spontaneity of the spacing with the last word is just barely squeezed in. It seems to me this tailgate was originally on another truck. If so, why was it rescued to ride again on the back of this truck. There is a story there, I think.”
Lucia says, “I’ll respond to Susan’s curiosity about what compelled me to take this photo. It’s a scene I pass several times a week on many of my dog walks. What got my attention is how the tailgate is so different from the rest of the truck. I liked the incongruity of it. I think Susan is right. The tailgate was probably resurrected from a junkyard. At first glance the paint job looked like a patchwork of repairs and colors. You see, I’ve never been adept at deciphering 70s style graphics, so I didn’t see the message right away. When I realized what I was seeing, all the things Susan mentioned (protest songs, anti-war movements) and more (saving the environment – after all, it is a recycled tailgate) came up for me. Therefore, even though the tailgate is a bit of an eyesore, I ended up liking it enough to want to capture it in a photo.”
