Artist Jon Haddock explores lines between fiction, media, and reality. Drawing inspiration from both popular culture and high art, he often references the language of comic books and video games to question the use, influence, and role of the image in today's society.

The Things (that do not spark joy), a mural by the artist, depicts Santa Ana-born actor Robert Webber (1924 - 1989) in his role as Ikar in the television show The Outer Limits episode Keeper of the Purple Twilight from 1964. In the episode, an unearthly being approaches a driven scientist with offers to exchange his alien intelligence in return for the experience of human emotions. Their experiment, however, has unforeseen consequences for both, as soon a team of alien enforcers arrives to destroy them, along with the scientist's girlfriend, Janet.