Noah Berger, American
Senior Center Sign with COVID-19 Information Surrounded by Flames, 2020
In this picture, Noah Berger truly captures the horror of what Californians experienced in the summer of 2020 when both wildfires and the COVID-19 pandemic swept through their communities. The sign is meant to encourage and inform people to stay safe against the virus, but the flames surrounding it counteract this idea, asking the question of whether we really are safe when our communities and homes are going up in flames. The daunting reality of this image is that it captures two simultaneous catastrophes, both of which have the power to literally take their innocent victims’ breath away. Behind the sign advising people to “wear a mask,” smoke can be seen filling the air giving an irony or double meaning to the sign; you should wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID and to protect your lungs from the wildfire’s smoke. Label by Lindsey Smith