This is a topic that I will always find interesting. Why do we feel such pride about where we’re from? Is it “home is where the heart is”? Or a deep connection to all the people we’ve met and the experiences we’ve had? I’m sure there’s a crapload of reasons, especially to individual people, but I find it interesting seeing so much art created featuring our beloved U.S. states that people really buy into.
I was recently commissioned to make the canvas art shown above connecting New York and Louisiana and it made me think about all of this.
When I was in Portland, there was so much art featuring the bridges of Portland, the neighborhoods, and the weather. In New Orleans I saw city related art and a whole lot of shirts, stickers, and tattoos of the Louisiana silhouette. New York obviously has “I ♥ NY” and so much more that I don’t need to dive into. Anyway, these are just three that I noticed recently, and I’m sure every city and every state has their own love that they sell. It creates all this pride for the locals as well as souvenirs for visitors.
I love my home state, but I surely have moments where I don’t appreciate New York as much as I should. I mean for goodness sakes, it’s home to one of the most notorious city in the world. Everyone wants to be here, and yet I don’t, which is why I find state pride so weird. I will always find myself coming back here, but I’m always looking to escape. And when I do escape, I feel my New York and east coast pride when people ask me where I’m from. It’s the strangest concept.
Do you feel a strong connection to where you live or where you’re from, or do you find yourself in a weird place like me?
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