Torn up highways 

Nigel Van Wieck created "Torn up highways," sometime in the 20th century. It depicts a motel scene on a desolate highway, with a woman washing a car and another figure standing nearby. Van Wieck's work is rooted in an American fascination with the open road, yet the painting invites us to consider more than just scenic travel. The mid-century setting evokes a nostalgic era of car culture, while the mundane scene of the car wash is juxtaposed against the vast, empty landscape. We are invited to explore the gendered representation of labor, as the woman is relegated to the task of cleaning, while the man is seen relaxing. How does this image play into the mythic construction of American freedom and the promise of mobility? The figures are seemingly stranded in place, caught in the inertia of daily life, disrupting any romantic notions of freedom. In this sense, the painting reflects the quiet desperation of the roadside motel and the tension between the promise of escape and the reality of stagnation.