Hello everyone!
I am writing today, because sometimes writing is the best way to just think, you know? So this might end up being a random blog, but just come along for the ride. I’m sure it will go somewhere. It is June 4th, 2020 as I write this, though it might take me a day or so to post it. I wrote last week about being environmentally conscious in our tools and supply use, and I know my readers appreciate that. Today though, I am of the mindset that I want to also be socially conscious in my art making. I know my comfort zone is to create from life- either portraits of people, pets, scenes- but I have a huge amount of respect and admiration when an artist can depict a message in their artwork. My art process is meditative, but I absolutely value and admire the artists that are able to be reflective and evoke feeling and a social statement in their art. I feel lost in that direction with my own art, and though I feel like I have the skills to implement a nice painting of something physical, it falls flat when I work to make a statement. It is almost as though I really need to develop and live the history of the image I am making, and understand it at a core level, because I can only be the most passionate about things I know. And right now, I am realizing that the things I think I know may not be the actual truth to society as a whole.
Art has its roots in telling stories, histories, though I also think that the early artists- the Lascaux Cave painters for example- probably enjoyed their craft to some degree as well. Their message was to tell the history of their people.
15,000 years ago, cave dwellers were telling the history of their land by depicting animals and flora around where they lived. You can view the caves from the comfort of your home here, as the caves have been closed to the public since 1960s due to degradation of the images. It’s amazing to think that these were messages from one generation to the next. A told history that only they understood, as passed down from one family member to another. It is convenient to learn from our elders. We can blindly trust that those elders are well meaning, and are telling facts, but even Disney’s Frozen II explores the idea that we must always seek additional truth to back up our belief systems.
Historically, other artists have used their platform to tell stories about what is going on in their world. The Lucas Museum, currently under construction in Los Angeles, calls this Narrative Art. I love this term, because for sure, we are using art to start a narrative. One that will bring our ideas into the future preserving the historical importance, and more importantly to start a conversation. It really will facilitate a conversation between the artist and the viewer. Or, between the viewer and another viewer. It is a slice of life at the time of creation, even viewing works of fantasy and illusion.
But, who decides what is an important art work, or an important message to tell? This has been the struggle of so many museum curators. They answer to a museum board that has an agenda and a mission to uphold. Textbook writers must answer to the school board of education, and that doesn’t always represent an accurate depiction of what our world really looks like. As a white woman, I trusted that my education had been wide and accurate, and that I was supposed to submit to the teachings of my school teachers and just learn what they wanted me to learn- because their curriculum had to meet the standards of education at the time. I was never taught to think on my own in school- I was taught to digest what was put in front of me. In high school, I found myself making friends with people that HAD been taught to think for themselves. It was so invigorating to be around these friends. To be honest, I do not think I did well to keep up with them intellectually up to this point. They are still pretty amazing people, making change in their communities through the work they are doing.
I remember a time in high school, along with this group friends, that we had conversations where we discussed our mutual respect the environment and animals, and did not feel like the dissection of an animal in high school was the only way that we could successfully learn and appreciate the anatomy of an insect, a fetal pig, etc. We (with the support of certain adults to guide us) presented and then purchased alternative learning materials on CD rom format (this was the 1990s) that would allow us to virtually “dissect” an animal model. We wrote to the American Anti-Vivisection Society for guidance, and they helped us procure those materials for a small donation, vs. for the amount that an educator would have to pay. They still have education resources on their website, listed here.
I learned so much from the process of researching and obtaining that model- maybe more than if the dead animal was just put in front of me and I complacently dissected the thing. I am unsure if anyone used that software after our class did, but I am proud that we were able to make little change and set a precedence that this is an acceptable way to learn.
This brings me to now. I reflect on the above because it is one way in my life that I challenged authority. I know we were successful in this endeavor because our white privilege allowed us to have a voice- As teenagers- Against adults that had an agenda, that had their curriculum for the year planned out and most likely didn’t want to have to think about alternatives, because that is just more work. Looking back on it, I am not sure my peers of color would have been afforded this type of conversation, had they wanted that opportunity. At that time in my life, I had not been exposed to many conversations about race relations, but I did know the importance of discontinuing racism and hate, and I even created a piece that I entered into an art show on how our country was shaped by people of color. I posted about that experience here. While I did have friends and classmates that were black, Hispanic, Asian, and Indian I didn’t have the conversation skills to know that I could even ask about their experiences with discrimination, or how I could be a voice for them if they HAD wanted to have an alternative way of learning something. I was stuck in a system where our textbooks were written with a narrative that (in)advertently(?) supported the white agenda. Our history books did not help me understand beyond the whitewashed “facts” that we had to memorize. We weren’t exposed to this history in context to social and political activism that we were witnessing. I lived through the Iraqi War, but to this day, I have a very poor understanding of why we were there, how we got there, and why we stayed as long as we stayed, because all I remember about that time, was listening to my middle school history teacher talk about his experience in the army. Even that memory is hazy. I know we talked about it, and I know I remember purchasing little yellow ribbons for the cause, but the full understanding of why we were there politically is not in an accessible part of my brain right now.
That said, I am working to educate myself now. I am seeing how art can be a bridge to these conversations. Art can tell the story of what is happening. It provides the imagery and that slice into what life looked like when the imagery was created. As a white woman, it is my job to stand up and teach my children about love, and that hate has no room in our world, and should not be tolerated. That kindness is always the way to approach a new person in whatever situation, and to be open to listen to stories. I also know, that as much as I love the school my children attend, they are bound by the same department of education that my school was bound to. So, I also have to educate my kids in alternative ways of thinking. In seeking out their own truth, and that they are key in helping others have the ability to even have the conversation that they are automatically afforded because they are white. Being a therapist and art therapist by trade, it has always been a tenant of the profession that we are advocates. For our clients, for our ethical and moral responsibilities, and also for our fellow human beings. So, how does one advocate through their art? Let’s look at some amazing artists that bring the story to the forefront!
The Guardian, in 2017 wrote a great article on protest art since the 1940s. https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/sep/06/a-brief-history-of-protest-art-from-the-1940s-until-now-whitney-new-york
As I look through these images, I am reminded again of the work of the guerrilla girls, bringing light to the inequities that women artists face in the larger art world. Keith Herring speaking up about the AIDS crisis- Like, I remember that time! I remember hearing about this in school, and how it is always important to be safe in sex and not to do drugs for fear of spreading the disease. Artists created those images. They helped us understand where the politics and rhetoric fell short.
With the death of George Floyd, Justin Howell, Sean Monterrosa and Jamel Floyd, this past week, and Trayvon Martin, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Philando Castile, Breonna Taylor in the not so distant past, it is important that we remember their names and the legacy they are leaving. One that is hopefully rippling through our nation as a way to come together and bring an end to systemic racism. I will be using my art as a platform for continued education, learning, building community and spreading the word, and I am excited to be working with some talented artists in my community to start something larger, through a network of artists coming together to listen to one another, and be present and accepting of someone outside of their comfort zone. Stay tuned!