Saving "Faith of America"

To show America through Norman Rockwell's eyes again - to capture the essence of American pride and innocence from Rockwell's amazing work and put it on photo paper with great humor, pride and creativity.

"The '20s ended in an era of extravagance, sort of like the one we're in now. There was a big crash, but then the country picked itself up again, and we had some great years. Those were the days when American believed in itself. I was happy and proud to be painting it," said Norman Rockwell.

With his artwork Rockwell made America see the goodness that each citizen entails, he made us believe in the simple and beautiful life we have in a free country.

Now, decades after his death, we need that innocence and belief back. We need to believe in his paintings of "Faith of America" and "Four Freedoms" again.

My dream photography project is to recreate his beautiful paintings with photography. I want to show the innocence and simplicity of children, and also capture the reality of issues like in "The Problem We All Live With," about racism which is still prevalent today.

Most of all I think it's important to depict "The Four Freedoms," which was a theme derived from the 1941 State of the Union Address by President Franklin Roosevelt delivered to the 77th United States Congress in 1941. During the speech he identified four essential human rights (Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Worship, Freedom From Want and Freedom From Fear) that should be universally protected and should serve as a reminder of the American motivation for fighting in World War II. Rockwell captured this, and with these issues still very prevalent decades later, I would like to again remind America of our "Four Freedoms."

I would like to use "real people" as the models - I would use people that have done great things for our country and their town and model them in a prevalent character in the photograph. If a celebrity or known person was interested, I would consider it if they fit the profile and have done charitable work that matches others cast for this project.

I feel a project like this can be beneficial in many ways:

1) It would profile people that have done great and honorable things - reminding our country of the greatness we can each achieve in volunteering and charitable work.

2) The setting would be in real locations that serve good purposes - the ma and pa ice cream store, the doctor's office that does great charity work, etc.

3) The photographs would be good work, and something that the models, communities, and each person that views the person can be very proud of.

4) Ultimately it would remind people of the greatness this country holds. We may be under stress, grief and trouble here and abroad - but just like Norman Rockwell showed during and after the depression and war - we will prevail and come out stronger.

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