---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN#/ISBN# issue/book “Another Lifetime” cc&d, v295 (the Mar. 2020 issue) Order the 6"x9" paperback book:

Order this writing in the issue book Aiming at Immortality the cc&d Feb.-April 2020 magazine issues collection book		get the 322 page Feb.-April 2020 cc&d magazine 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Order this writing in the book inside the box the 2020 poetry & art collection anthology		get the 262 page poetry & artwork & photography collection anthology as a 6" x 9" ISBN# paperback book:

Judy Chicago’s Diptych,
“Banality of Evil/Then and Now”*

I.B. Rad

The “Then”

The “Then” starts with a photolinen panel
showing a European cottage
in a sylvan setting,
with figures and props painted on.
A Nazi flag swings beside a window
as a small acrylic boy
proudly thrusts his dad
a Heil Hitler salute
(four toy soldiers and a drum
at his feet);
meanwhile, still in SS uniform,
jacket slung over his left shoulder,
newly arrived dad,
strokes the pet dog
and smiles at mom,
who, hugging a chubby baby,
beams at hubby,
as their diminutive daughter,
standing pigeon toed,
demurely waters the garden.
Innocuously painted in the background
so as not to disturb this idyllic scene,
a smokestack oozes
a horizontal plume of gray.
Nothing to bother about,
no apparent pollution here,
just some more Gypsies and Jews
going up in smoke.

The “Now” (circa 1989, artworks completion date)

Underlying the “Now” scene,
another photolinen panel
shows two suburban homes
set against the backdrop
of an imposing New Mexican foothill.
Two acrylic boys toss their Frisbee
and a small girl, holding her dolly,
sits on the lawn,
as physicist, part-time outdoor cook, dad,
sporting apron and chef’s hat,
barbecues hamburger patties
while beaming mom,
lounges comfortably in a lawn chair,
drink in hand.
Standing beside her, their pet dog
looks longingly at the hamburgers,
a large bone between her forelegs.
All the while,
exposed by a cutaway,
the commanding foothill/backdrop
silos a nuclear armory
[“out of sight, out of mind.”]
Just another lazy day in the sun
enjoying a good barbecue
with nothing more to be concerned about
except, perhaps, too much exposure.

 

*Slightly modified from version published in the
Holocaust Remembrance Day issue of Poetry Superhighway, 2019.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...