atomic project 

2007

paintings on canvas 

 

The Atomic Project is a series of portraits I did in Albuquerque, NM of the swing dancers and miscellaneous patrons who frequented the Atomic Cantina on Thursday evenings. I am fascinated by sub-cultures, and the process of slipping into and out of them myself as an observer and sometimes a participant. I love Albuquerque for its eclectic and eccentric qualities. At the Atomic, swing dancers would mingle with hippies and punks. I would often visit on Thursday evenings to observe the dancers in polka dots and zoot suit jackets who sipped Tecates, Fat Tires and Blue Moons while pounding out Jitterbug and Lindy Hop to the live music of the Long Gone Trio. Sometimes I joined them.