Description

Shortly after Armistice Day, the U.S. Government built a new munitions factory on the banks of the Potomac in Alexandria, Virginia, steps from Washington, DC. The factory built munitions during World War II and was converted to storage after the war. In 1974 it was converted into an art center—called the Torpedo Factory—and became home to the largest number of publicly-accessible working artist studios in the U.S. In 1982 the building was completely gutted and renovated as part of the City’s redevelopment of the Potomac River waterfront. Clay Huffman—a long-time Torpedo Factory artist and beloved fixture in the DC-area arts community—portrays the building that was demolished to make way for a garage and condos and put himself in the picture, pretending to help along with demolition. With the heavy inking, glossiness, and luminosity of the silkscreen technique pioneered by mid-Century New York artist Clayton Pond.