Three Machines by Wayne Thiebaud brings me back to childhood.

Bubble gum ice cream was pretty much my jam and any piece of art that can evoke the joys of yesteryear and excessive sugar consumption is okay by me. Thiebaud has a real knack for invoking feelings of happiness and he does it using such simple imagery.

Scientists have found that consuming sweets like ice cream and candy triggers the release of endorphins in our brain. Endorphins are chemicals that are produced by our bodies to help us cope with stress and pain. So seeing images of ooey gooey treats can conjure up feelings of happiness and glee. Either Thiebaud had a serious sweet tooth or he has some very clever subliminal ways of marketing his art and making it appealing to the masses. I’m on to you Wayne…

Many people identify the imagery in this painting as being the most quintessentially American image. While I think an apple pie or a cheeseburger would rival the gumball machine, there is no arguing that machines that spit out chewy sugary balls of candy is not American. Thiebaud explained that he likes to paint gumball machines because they are “a gadget for stimulating the greatest series of associations and responses.” Essentially, he feels that life is like a gumball machine, you put things into it but you never really know what is going to come out. Thiebaud’s propensity to be delighted by the simplistic gamble of life and delightful little sweets leads me to believe that Wayne and Forrest Gump would get along just fine.