GETAWAY CAR: Michael Shaeffer Solo Show at Argenta Library

“Getaway Car” has become a way for me to digest my mother’s passing. A way to tap into the feelings I had as a child, while strapped into the back of that Red Nissan where I spent a good portion of my childhood. A childhood watching the North Atlantic pass by at 55 MPH. A huge part of that time unknowingly learning how to draw through “how-to-books,” while listening to mix tapes my mother made of sounds of her past. In hindsight, these trips became a massive part of who I have become as an adult. This opportunity has given me a chance to reflect on that time we had together. Within these day trips (some a bit further) to strange destinations, my mother’s wanderlust was omnipresent, and this car made it all possible. I am not sure what she was running from, and I am not sure that is even important, but it was more about the journey. Leaving our day to day behind, packing a bag and hitting the road. It was an adventure to see what was out there. Mainly we visited the “past”. The past as an escape from the present. I can’t help but see that as a major influence on my obsession with nostalgia. A time that may not have been better, but a time when things were different than the now. A collection of journeys that potentially could give us a better understanding of who we are today. In a sense, thinking of the past as a way distract us from the worries of the present and maybe give us a better path to the future. My mother’s life was full of loss and heartache. I can only imagine this was a way to find joy through exploration. As her companion, I was along for the ride. I think she felt we could possibly replace those sad moments with memories of adventure. Throughout the works in this exhibition, I wanted to remember those times, a time where there seemed to be “a little bit more magic” in this world. Careless, free, and at times boring. A time where nothing really mattered except seeing what was around the next corner. I remember a lot of laughter from those days. That overly confident man with the slicked back hair and sharkskin suit in the car lot that day, may have just been trying to meet his quota for the month, but he changed our path moving forward. When my mom drove off that lot she never looked back. My mother was diagnosed with vascular dementia in 2016 (I feel she was battling with it far before that diagnosis). It was a slow and sad decline over the years, and I wish it was different. However, she was tough and the times I had as her companion will never be matched. We had an amazing run, and I thank her for that. With all that said this show is about a car, and a life well lived. I am thankful that I was along for the ride.