The Dissolution of Freddie

““The Dissolution of Freddie” arose from the contrast between everyday, middle-class American life and the suffering of people in other countries—often at the hands of governments we support. The particulars have changed, but worldwide suffering—and our blind refusal to face or understand it—remains. 1987

Details: 6 ¾” x 8 ¾”; 48 pages, hardcover edition 20; softcover edition 3. Letterpress, silkscreen, printed in four colors and case bound

Collaboration with writer Juliet Wittman

Juliet Wittman: “In the early 1980s, I interviewed several refugees from Guatemala and El Salvador. I had read about the terrible repression in those countries, but there’s something extraordinarily intense about hearing stories of murder from witnesses, and torture from those who experienced it. I was unable to sleep for weeks, but my friends’ lives went on as usual: They chatted about dinner parties, books and movies, spouses and dates. Meanwhile the immigration authorities sent these refugees back to the very countries where their lives were in danger.

Judy Anderson:  “Interpreting Wittman’s short story I attempted to visually express the jarring, terrifying dream sequence that invades the mundane journal notations of the woman narrator. The clear separation between the violent dream sequences and her own life becomes more unclear until they visually collide at the end of the story. This becomes a strong statement about the violence that exists in the world and the ease in which we tune it out after watching the evening news.”