a fresh spin on which came first

Spinach Harvest - Digital Painting - Dan Beck - 2005

Generally when I write - my inspiration comes from a choice of artwork - its implications or origins - but it is about the artwork - looking outward.

In an unusual twist, I am thinking about the climate of fear we live in. Living in Salinas (and even if I weren’t), I felt the hype over the 3 deaths and multiple illnesses related to E. coli tainted spinach a bit over the top.

I heard Jay Leno recently say that there were thirteen deaths caused by vending machines last year -

So basically there is over four times as much chance you will get killed by a coke machine than eating spinach - without even talking about health risks from too much soda.

Each year - approximately 35,000 people die in the U.S. of flu-related causes -

I painted the above digital painting - long before any E. coli spinach scare - it was a time consuming painting to go along with the time consuming task of harvesting. I have tremendous respect for these workers - they work incredibly long hours and just about always wave a hello if they see you - and most of them do work which no born and raised American would generally even consider let alone try.

So call me reckless, but I am more afraid of fast food than spinach, bigotry than illegal immigrants, and worst of all (in this climate of dwindling civil rights) - speaking up in a voice that might be heard.

See Also

• Death by Vending Machine - a tongue and cheek look at some of the stupidities in our world - but my take is “fear of litigation”
• Figures Art Gallery - original prints are available for all works in this gallery from 2005- in addition to this piece - others which were actually meant to be a bit dissenting