Don

An older man in dark glasses and a blue athletic jacket stands on a front stoop holding a red and white umbrella.

Don: “There is a part of me that feels more hopeful about the future than ever, entirely because of the young generation, Gen Z. Greta Thunberg is a hero of mine. And I see others like her. They are taking social media and its connectedness to a whole new level, in a good way.

This hopefulness did not emerge due to the coronavirus; it happened maybe six months ago and it came out of nowhere. Not something I had been thinking about. But I welcome it and use it to help guide me in countering the fear and negativity that try to invade my mind at times.”

Audio Transcript

Hi. This is Don Ament and, other than a couple of years out West, as of this summer, I have lived in Lexington for 50 years. And I started thinking about this idea of what kind of America would I like to live in. First thing that popped into my mind was, “I’m going to have to think of something positive here.” And then the second thing was, “I’m gonna have to think of something positive here.” And it kind of springboarded me into this idea that the kind of America I wanna live in is an America where we remember how to think positively. It just seems like we are drowned out now with our, our daily nuclear bombs on our 24/7 news cycle and the, the angst on our, on our social media accounts and all that kind of stuff. Just to remember to step back from all that. And, and it might sound simple and naïve. But maybe just thinking positively: that’s the America I’d like to live in.

Lexington in the Time of COVID-19 is an artwork about people practicing social distancing at a time of a deadly virus. And also offering kindness.

Kurt Gohde and Kremena Todorova capture photographs at the periphery of American culture, where drag queens, discarded couches, and abandoned motel signs exist.