Life-size cutouts of deployed service members

are given by the Maine National Guard to spouses, children and relatives back home.

The Flat Daddies ride in cars, sit at the dinner table, visit the dentist and even are brought to confession, according to their significant others on the home front.

At the request of relatives, about 200 Flat Daddy and Flat Mommy photos have been enlarged and printed at the state National Guard headquarters in Augusta, Maine. The families cut out the photos, which show the Guard members from the waist up, and glue them to a $2 piece of foam board.

Take that, designers of pillows-that-hug, USB-devices-that-emit-fragrance, robots-that-care-for-elders, simulated-dogs-that-soothe. A low-fi (functionally) but hi-fi (representationally) has dramatic (anecdotal) impact. Should we be chastened, saddened, or charmed?

Tags: cutout, depolyment, family, flat daddy, flat mommy, homesick, iraq, loved ones, military, overseas, photo, photograph, representational, simulacra

5 Responses to “Flat Daddy helps”

I vote, “charmed,” Steve.

A life-sized image of dad in the right spot might be all it takes to evoke a whole world of guidance, encouragement and love. Imagine what dad must feel seeing his image in the back seat with his sons…

Comment by Tom Guarriello 08.31.06 @ 5:57 pm





Good points, Tom. I guess I feel sad that these people are separated to the point of desparation; that they would try something that seems so ridiculous. I guess maybe desperation is the parent of innovation in this case, and I don’t dispute the results they are having.

I guess one could find the fact that they are warmed by a piece of foamcore to be slightly sad as well – that the mere image of someone, not their being, could be impactful? But then the placebo effect is a real effect.

I’m clearly conflicted here and I guess that’s what makes it a fascinating story for me!

Comment by Steve Portigal 08.31.06 @ 6:56 pm





I understand what you’re saying, Steve.

This image reminds me of the little shrines I saw in many Italian-American homes as a child: little votive candles and pictures of the Virgin, flickering on doilies in dark bedrooms, there to evoke the spirits of legions of absent loved ones. Or the icons containing digits of saints, encased in silver, enameled images all around.

I agree, this is a fascinating story.

Comment by Tom Guarriello 08.31.06 @ 7:04 pm





Nice image, Tom. I wonder about the impact or effect of the more literal symbols being used in these situations. Without the larger trappings of religion, it seems likely that these totems would be less about finery and abstraction.

Comment by Steve Portigal 09.01.06 @ 11:42 am




[...] Last year, I blogged about Flat Daddy (a full-size cardboard-mounted photo of a deployed military family member, providing a form of tangible substitute). Now, a woman details her own family’s struggle with the challenge deployment has brought, and the experience with Flat Daddy. But much of the time we simply keep moving forward as if there’s no hole in our family. It’s sheer pretense, as flimsy as a tissue, and I’m not sure how long it’s sustainable — or if it will get us through the long days ahead. [...]

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