Meltdown

Come see the work of Community Darkroom's new program assistant Melanie Couch. Meltdown, part of the citywide Thaw exhibition, features three different bodies of work, each taking a look at a reality that lies just beneath the surface.

Pink and Blue takes a peek at the commercialism of gender programming.

Shattered, a series of emotional equivalents, deals with the incommunicable grief associated with a tragic loss.

Suburban Fauxtos, based upon a quote by Betty Friedan and the largest body of work, explores the high price of the American dream as seen through the eyes of a suburban housewife.

"Each suburban wife struggled with it alone.

As she made the beds, shopped for

groceries, matched slipcover material, ate

peanut butter sandwiches with her children,

chauffered Cub Scouts and Brownies, lay

beside her husband at night -- she was

afraid to ask even of herself the silent

question -- "Is this all?"

-- Betty Friedan