{"id":6603,"date":"2019-05-25T16:56:50","date_gmt":"2019-05-25T21:56:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/?p=6603"},"modified":"2019-05-25T17:05:50","modified_gmt":"2019-05-25T22:05:50","slug":"summer-firework-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/2019\/05\/25\/summer-firework-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Summer Firework Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

PLATE 1. Crazy Debbie\u2019s Discount Fireworks take over an old building near Mount Branson on East 76.<\/strong><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Summer Firework Art<\/h1>\n

by Joshua Heston<\/strong><\/p>\n

An oscillating fan turned, moving humid air from one aisle to another, cement floor smooth and a little dewy in the hot summer night. The glowing Black Cat sign competed with a red neon Open<\/em> blinking in the window as Joe Diffie\u2019s Prop Me Up Beside the Jukebox<\/em> blared from a cheap dollar store radio.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6609″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]And everywhere you looked was stacks of explosives, floor to ceiling, all wrapped in the brightest, loudest, at-times most distasteful pop art illustrations you could possibly imagine.<\/p>\n

The garish, provocative images worked their magic on kids, teenagers and kids-at-heart alike. One man, heavy and sleeveless, moved to the counter \u2014 arms full of explosives \u2014 with the same giddy and unrestrained enthusiasm as his blond, waif-like daughter tagging behind. Army-minded boys darted among the aisles, comparing the merits of Black Cats versus Moon Rockets. A couple of teenagers in baggy camo carried off a cardboard box loaded with mortar shells.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Rainbow Fountains, Naughty Boys, Witchcraft, Hula Girls, Ecstasy<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6610″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Is it ironic we celebrate our nation\u2019s birth with tons of small explosives imported from China? Perhaps not. Along with gunpowder, it is generally believed fireworks of all kinds were first made in China beginning in the seventh century. According to some historic records, American colonists were shooting off fireworks well before the United States was, well, united.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Twister, Tang Dynasty, Khaotic KaBoom, Pyro Candy, Holy Moly<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6611″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Brilliant colors, the tension of a sputtering fuse, booming explosions, the threat of danger. No wonder fireworks are so popular and, in a red state like Missouri, so plentiful. As Fourth of July nears, tents of circus-size proportion crop up like toadstools after a forest rain, filled to the brim with enough explosives to invite the envy of Guy Fawkes, the Catholic anarchist who attempted to blow up British Parliament in 1605.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Red Comet Tail, Whistling Moon Travelers<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6612″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Firework art is often ignored, especially as most of the illustrations are reduced to blackened paper shrapnel by the morning of July 5. But perhaps it is the cheap, disposable nature of this art that is so intriguing.<\/p>\n

Here, in this wildly colorful, imaginative \u2014 at times offensive \u2014 and expendable art we find a unique vision of summertime, nighttime, and American culture.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Bamboo Bangers, Thunder Shock, Screaming Fish<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6613″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]This is fusion, pop-pulp art at its most low-brow. Scrawling calligraphy and bold post-modern sans serif fonts mix with 1950s\u2019 Japanese animation, Harvey Comics style drawings, and occasionally psychedelic post-sixties\u2019 colors and shapes.<\/p>\n

There is a wild conglomeration of styles and intents. Stately, classic 1950s\u2019 designs complete with screen printed star bursts, scrolling typefaces and uniquely creamy fruit tones compete with the intimidating Desert Storm-style art of exploding tanks and hurtling F-16s.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

Saturn Missiles, Crackling Bullet<\/em><\/h3>\n

[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6614″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]After 9\/11, there was even a proliferation of Arabian-US conflict art, none of which passed muster with the political-correctness police. Back in 2009, one firework package drew ire from Minnesota Arab groups as it illustrated \u201cmen in Middle Eastern-style clothing riding camels with a stealth bomber flying over them. On the other side is an image of Uncle Sam pulling the beard of a graying man in a turban.\u201d The firework in question was titled, \u201cRun Haji Run.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6615″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Um, politically correct firework art ain\u2019t. And much like a circus side show, these illustrations appeal to an unspoken consciousness existing somewhere amongst adolescence, bellicosity, unashamed idealism and tension. For amid the 1950s-era flying saucers, the black bats, the \u201cMidnight Monsoon\u201d or \u201cGolden Shower\u201d sparkler fountains, the \u201cGorilla Warfare\u201d mortars and the sexy \u2014 albeit comic-book inspired \u2014 dancing girl twirling sparklers is the unspoken: fireworks are dangerous, unpredictable, and outside the boundaries of a safe, tempered society.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=”6616″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_separator][vc_column_text]Shooting them off by the score demonstrates our guts.<\/p>\n

Loud, rude and risky. As backyards across the Ozarks erupt in mortar smoke this season, it is a riotous reminder: middle America likes to play it big, free and not necessarily safe.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]WARNING:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Shoots flaming balls and reports. Use only under close adult supervision. For outdoor use only. Do not hold in hand. Place upright and use only on concrete, asphalt or other flat surface.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Originally published JUNE 16, 2014[\/vc_column_text][vc_text_separator title=”Story Credits…”][vc_column_text]\u00a9STATEOFTHEOZARKS.NET, JULY 3 2, 2009, JULY 3, 2010. STORY CREDITS: WRITTEN BY JOSHUA HESTON, FIREWORK HISTORY COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA, RUN HAJI RUN STORY COURTESY OF MRSSATAN.BLOGSPOT.COM<\/strong>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] PLATE 1. Crazy Debbie\u2019s Discount Fireworks take over an old building near Mount Branson on East 76. [\/vc_column_text][vc_separator][vc_column_text] Summer Firework Art by Joshua Heston An oscillating fan turned, moving humid air from one aisle to another, cement floor smooth and a little dewy in the hot summer night. The glowing Black Cat sign competed…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_wp_convertkit_post_meta":{"form":"-1","landing_page":"","tag":"0"},"footnotes":""},"categories":[949,956,529,581],"tags":[1135,1139,1127,1122,1132,1126,1130,1124,1131,1123,1133,1138,1137,1129,1136,1128,1134,1125],"class_list":["post-6603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ozarkfinearts","category-ozarknerds","category-sotoart","category-sotofeature","tag-bamboo-bangers","tag-crackling-bullet","tag-ecstasy","tag-firework-art","tag-holy-moly","tag-hula-girls","tag-khaotic-kaboom","tag-naughty-boys","tag-pyro-candy","tag-rainbow-fountains","tag-red-comet-tail","tag-saturn-missiles","tag-screaming-fish","tag-tang-dynasty","tag-thunder-shock","tag-twister","tag-whistling-moon-travelers","tag-witchcraft","category-949","category-956","category-529","category-581","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6603"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6621,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6603\/revisions\/6621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateoftheozarks.net\/showcase\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}