tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/artist-31023/articlesArtist – The Conversation2023-07-20T12:28:35Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2024762023-07-20T12:28:35Z2023-07-20T12:28:35ZA sculptor of wind explains how to make fiber dance far above city streets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519873/original/file-20230406-22-dv2imt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In 2018, Echelman's sculpture 'Earthtime 1.78 Madrid' premiered in the Spanish capital.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/an-art-installation-featuring-a-net-sculpture-of-layers-of-news-photo/918590464?adppopup=true">GettyImages</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em><a href="https://arts.mit.edu/people/janet-echelman/">Janet Echelman</a> says she never set out to be a sculptor of wind. But if you have ever explored <a href="https://www.echelman.com/project/she-changes">Porto, Portugal</a>, walked the streets of <a href="https://www.echelman.com/earthtime-korea">Gwanggyo, South Korea</a>, or passed through <a href="https://www.echelman.com/project/west-hollywood">West Hollywood</a>, you might have seen her massive iridescent sculptures of fiber floating above cities and the millions of people in them. Working closely with engineers, Echelman has spent the past 26 years of her career producing sculptures that rival the size of skyscrapers.</em> </p>
<p><em>In March, Echelman spoke at the 2023 <a href="https://www.imaginesolutionsconference.com/">Imagine Solutions Conference</a> in Naples, Florida, about her journey to becoming a sculptor, her creative process and how her sculptures have forever changed the landscapes of the cities where they ripple, dance and billow in the wind.</em></p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">Janet Echelman speaks at the 2023 Imagine Solutions Conference.</span></figcaption>
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<p><strong>What inspired you to create this type of art?</strong></p>
<p>I began my career as a painter. In 1997, I traveled to India as a Fulbright scholar and planned to give exhibitions around the country. I had my paints and brushes shipped to India from the U.S., but they never arrived. As the deadline for the show loomed, I had to come up with something fast. In Mahabalipuram, the Indian fishing village where I was staying, I would watch the fishermen work and reel in their mounds of netting on the beach at the end of each day. One day, it occurred to me that those nets would make excellent material for sculptures. By the end of my Fulbright year, I had created an entire series of these netted sculptures with the fishermen, called <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5bcf71640cf57d7e684e11bd/t/5c1966b78985836efb599fe2/1545168569303/Bellbottoms.pdf">the Bellbottom Series</a>, named after the popular bell-bottom pants. </p>
<p>I’ve been working to develop and refine this visual language ever since. It’s an ever-evolving challenge to go from making handmade nets on the beach with fishermen in India to creating works the scale of one or two city blocks attached to skyscrapers.</p>
<p><strong>How do you approach the engineering side of your art? How are these pieces constructed, especially given their large scale?</strong></p>
<p>Every piece is planned out digitally first. The first sketches are very simple – it’s just me with a pencil. </p>
<p>But the final design in our studio is a complete digital color 3D model. We can see how the sculpture sits in space and how it attaches to everything around it. We’re able to move around the three-dimensional site to see the work from all sides. </p>
<p>My team and I have engaged in a decade of development of original computer software to do soft-body modeling of our sculptures, which allows us to design our 3D netted forms while understanding the constraints of our craft, showing response to the forces of gravity and wind.</p>
<p>Every element – every line of twine, and every knot – is modeled in terms of its thickness, stiffness, weight and density. So it’s actually quite an endeavor to analyze such unusual structures that are both porous and fluidly moving. This is not the standard – building departments typically analyze solid buildings made of things they know, like steel and concrete – so this is really pushing everyone to work in new ways.</p>
<p>In terms of the physical construction, my sculptures appear delicate yet are incredibly strong. They have to be able to withstand winds of a Category 5 hurricane. We achieve that by using highly engineered materials, including a fiber that NASA used for the Mars Rover called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/chemistry/ultra-high-molecular-weight-polyethylene">ultrahigh-molecular-weight polyethylene</a>, which is custom-braided into structural ropes. We use a variety of other fibers to create the braided twine for the soft layers of each sculpture. </p>
<p>The ropes are then all hand-spliced together with methods that have been used for hundreds of years to construct boats in the maritime industry. These are old human technologies passed down from generation to generation. </p>
<p>Once we have these knotted net panels, we incorporate different colors to create patterns within the work. These panels are then attached to rope structures and usually lifted into space using cranes. My team pulls them into tension so that they can withstand immense forces of nature. </p>
<p><strong>What was the hardest sculpture to create from a technical standpoint, and why?</strong></p>
<p>My commission for the <a href="https://www.echelman.com/st-petersburg-fl">St. Petersburg pier</a> in Florida titled “Bending Arc” was challenging, because it needed to withstand a Category 5 hurricane – and yet we did it. There’s <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/video/news/local/bending-arc-at-st-pete-pier-dazzles-viewers-as-hurricane-ian-moves-through-florida/67-3583713f-164d-46e2-909e-60ccf0c3132d">footage of it during Hurricane Ian</a>, and it was just dancing beautifully. </p>
<p>Hurricane testing starts in the design stages. Our detailed digital models are tested and analyzed for their capacity to withstand certain forces of wind, which, for public safety reasons, is required in order to obtain a building permit. My sculptures have to satisfy the same requirements as a skyscraper, and they can withstand the same forces as any major building. </p>
<p><strong>What are you currently working on that you’re excited about?</strong></p>
<p>I am excited to continue to explore the relationship between dance and art. In 2014, <a href="https://www.echelman.com/project/dance-collaboration-stuttgart-germany-2014">I collaborated with the Stuttgart Ballet in Germany</a> to create sculptures that dancers could interact with in their performances. </p>
<p>Since then I have worked with a choreographer and engineer at Princeton University to create a sculpture that the dancers actually enter into and interact with. Their movements cause the sculpture to move and appear as if it were a dancer itself at a larger scale. I see it as an exploration of our planet and its climate. It illustrates how the Earth and human beings are always mutually influencing one another – and yet we are not equals. </p>
<p><strong>What do you hope your art evokes in people?</strong></p>
<p>It’s important to me that each person can create their own meaning from art. They are the expert in their own experience. </p>
<p>If my work offers a moment of contemplation and allows you to feel a sense of calm and your own interconnection with the wind, sun, people and city, then that’s all I could hope for. I like how complete strangers often start talking to each other underneath the sculptures. Our cities are made up of straight lines and hard edges and my sculptures offer something completely different – they are soft and adaptable, yet they’re the same scale as skyscrapers. </p>
<p>If my art prompts people to contemplate that the world can be built in a completely different way than it always has been, if it opens up questions, then that is the most an artist could ever hope to do.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202476/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janet Echelman does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Artist Janet Echelman explains how she collaborates with engineers to create massive sculptures that have changed city landscapes and inspired people around the world.Janet Echelman, Mellon Distinguished Visiting Artist, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)Licensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2073262023-07-17T03:20:12Z2023-07-17T03:20:12ZNel Law stowed away on her husband’s ship to Antarctica. She was the first Australian woman to see its ‘crystalline strangeness’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536498/original/file-20230710-23-40qsdd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C11%2C3743%2C2521&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Painting by Nel Law</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Antarctic Division</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>I know many people born in 1961 – they are my contemporaries and friends. It doesn’t seem so long ago. Their lives and experiences seem modern to me. They don’t seem old: certainly, none of them have problems working their iPhones. And yet, 60 years is aeons ago when it comes to feminism and gender relations. </p>
<p>In 1961, a woman might be barred from a university position post-marriage if unable to show medical evidence of a hysterectomy. A gay man was coyly, whisperingly, described as a “friend of Dorothy” (and might lose his job if word got out). And a stunned albatross on a ship’s deck was far less of an ill omen than the insulting presence of a woman on board an expedition to <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-100-000-tourists-will-head-to-antarctica-this-summer-should-we-worry-about-damage-to-the-ice-and-its-ecosystems-192843">Antarctica</a>. </p>
<p>Rachael Mead’s novel, <a href="https://affirmpress.com.au/publishing/the-art-of-breaking-ice/">The Art of Breaking Ice</a>, imagines several months across 1960–1961, when pioneering Melbourne artist Nel Law stowed away on her explorer husband’s 13th voyage to Antarctica (albeit with his permission). She became not only the first artist in residence on an expedition, but the first Australian woman to step foot on Antarctica.</p>
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<p><em>Review: The Art of Breaking Ice – Rachael Mead (Affirm Press)</em></p>
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<p>Nel’s life as a 1960s Camberwell housewife and a talented, though not professional, artist is one in which the activities and ardours and endeavours of a woman are never worthy of the word “work”. (That word is quarantined for the use of men.) </p>
<p>We meet Nel deep in preparation for one of her husband’s “Antarctic-themed” pre-expedition dinner parties: slaving in the kitchen to produce a gustatorily repellent menu of penguins on horseback and seal liver pastries. </p>
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<span class="caption">Nel with her explorer husband Phillip Law: she stowed away on his thirteenth expedition to Antarctica.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Antarctic Division</span></span>
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<p>Nel is, foremost, her husband’s wife – agreeably giving up the chance of children because it doesn’t suit her husband’s schedule, disproportionately grieving over the loss of a compensatory cat. And going through “the change” in an era when such things as hot flushes are assiduously disguised, and sanitary products must be washed, wrung out and dried without ever being glimpsed by a member of the male sex. Nel, an “abstract” landscapist, is secretly turning from “oil to watercolour” inside.</p>
<p>The wife of a visiting dinner guest, however, is also a professional art critic. And when she spies Nel’s work on the living room walls, she gives her the courage to imagine what she might be capable of painting. Not from secondary artefacts – her husband’s photographs of Antarctica – but from being in Antarctica herself, painting <em>en plein</em> (if crystal-cold) air.</p>
<p>And so: the stowaway occurs, with a tacit nod from a few institutional VIPs.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/no-woman-could-paint-the-story-of-art-without-men-corrects-nearly-600-years-of-male-focused-art-criticism-184458">'No woman could paint': The Story of Art Without Men corrects nearly 600 years of male-focused art criticism</a>
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<h2>An artist’s tools</h2>
<p>Mead demonstrates a formidable knowledge of the Antarctic circle (she has travelled there twice), the machinations of an Antarctic expedition and the realities and rituals of a brutally masculine 1960s ship voyage. Not to mention the tools of an artist: the advantages, nuances and limitations of oil, watercolour, charcoal, pencil. </p>
<p>But it is the human drama of a lone female trapped for several months in a hostile world “meant for men” that makes this novel tick and hum and, dare I say it, throb.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536500/original/file-20230710-17-fwys8r.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rachael Mead demonstrates a formidable knowledge of the Antarctic circle and the tools of an artist. (Pcitured: Nel Law)</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Australian Antarctic Division</span></span>
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<p>“Why should this place be only for them?” Nel asks the four necessarily “unattached” female fieldworkers who accompany her for part of the voyage. Yet it clearly is. </p>
<p>Nel proceeds on the voyage as invisibly, as benignly, as she can: amid misogynist mutterings, sexual rumours, condescending takedowns and blatant intimidations. To her deep pain, it is not only the crew and male researchers who are her antagonists, but increasingly, her husband himself. </p>
<p>He reveals himself to be both petulantly, ferociously ambitious, and hard on his comrades – he is known among the crew as “Antarctic Stalin”. </p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The novel evokes the drama of Nel Law (featured here) as a lone female in a world ‘meant for men’.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Between navigating the men on board, deploying her artistic skills to men’s research purposes, and managing the myriad menopausal symptoms that imperil her composure, Nel must also sustain the placatory reflex of being wife to a difficult man. “It was a habit, this vigilance – a continual scanning of his emotional temperature, assessing what he needed, calibrating her response.” </p>
<p>Certainly, in 2023, I know this reflex in my own relationships with men – it is not confined to women of the 1960s. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/suburban-living-did-turn-women-into-robots-why-feminist-horror-novel-the-stepford-wives-is-still-relevant-50-years-on-186633">'Suburban living did turn women into robots': why feminist horror novel The Stepford Wives is still relevant, 50 years on</a>
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<h2>Marriage’s choppy waters</h2>
<p>Mead has published four poetry collections, and her poetic talents serve her well in describing the indescribable. The spectacle of Antarctica, which appears on a map “like a huge albino tadpole”, but is something vividly other in the flesh – with its mysterious ice and landscapes, the crystalline strangeness of a floating berg, the reek of penguin guano. </p>
<p>And the subtly coloured flesh of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/shrinking-antarctic-glaciers-could-make-adelie-penguins-unlikely-winners-of-climate-change-50851">Adelies penguins</a> she illustrates for her ornithologist friend, Harris – perhaps the only man on board who sees her as a person and artist in her own right, not the private property of her husband, or an interloper.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536501/original/file-20230710-27-33v20y.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rachael Mead’s poetic talents serve her well. Here, she’s pictured here on one of two trips to Antarctica.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The Art of Breaking Ice is the dramatisation of a true story – Mead makes this clear in her author’s note – but it is also the reimagining of stories that remain untold. </p>
<p>The novel is book-ended by contemporary fragments, like a commemorative service for Phil and Nel Law, in which pioneering explorer Phil Law, “Man of Antarctica”, is lionised, and his wife is, well, mentioned. </p>
<p>Nel’s voyage to Antarctica and back, through the choppy and frequently icy waters of a longstanding marriage, is the story of a woman’s right to be, to change, to grow and to love. Mead beautifully tracks Nel’s transition from being an interesting appurtenance to a man’s life, to an interesting woman in her own right.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/207326/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Edwina Preston received funding from Australia Council for the Arts for her latest novel Bad Art Mother</span></em></p>Nel Law’s voyage to Antarctica and back, through the choppy waters of a longstanding marriage, is the story of a woman’s right to be, to change, to grow and to love.Edwina Preston, PhD Candidate, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1726232021-12-27T19:02:45Z2021-12-27T19:02:45ZHave you fallen for the myth of ‘I can’t draw’? Do it anyway – and reap the rewards<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/437453/original/file-20211214-17-676q1x.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C0%2C1422%2C1028&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren Fisher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/how-to-guides-113946">series</a> explaining how readers can learn the skills to take part in activities that academics love doing as part of their work.</em></p>
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<p>Drawing is a powerful tool of communication. It helps build self-understanding and can <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0276237420923290">boost</a> mental health.</p>
<p>But our current focus on productivity, outcomes and “talent” has us thinking about it the wrong way. Too many believe the <a href="http://www.visuallanguagelab.com/P/NC_drawingdevelopment.pdf">myth</a> of “I can’t draw”, when in fact it’s a skill built through practice.</p>
<p>Dedicated practice is hard, however, if you’re constantly asking yourself: “What’s the point of drawing?”</p>
<p>As I argue in a new <a href="https://www.closure.uni-kiel.de/closure8/fisher">paper</a> in <a href="https://www.closure.uni-kiel.de/start_en">Closure E-Journal for Comic Studies</a>, we need to reframe our concept of what it means to draw, and why we should do it – especially if you think you can’t. </p>
<p>Devoting a little time to drawing each day may make you happier, more employable and sustainably productive.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434663/original/file-20211130-19-19dscvb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=620&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Automatic drawing – where one doodles without a specific aim – is a way to tap into flow states and become mindfully absorbed.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<h2>The many benefits of drawing</h2>
<p>I’m a keen doodler who turned a hobby into a PhD and then a career. I’ve taught all ages at universities, in library workshops and online. In that time, I’ve noticed many people do not recognise their own potential as a visual artist; self-imposed limitations are common. </p>
<p>That’s partly because, over time, drawing as a skill set has been devalued. <a href="https://mili.eu/insights/sunday-times-essential-workers-poll-response">A 2020 poll</a> ranked artist as the top non-essential job. </p>
<p>But new jobs are emerging all the time for visual thinkers who can translate complex information into easily understood visuals.</p>
<p>Big companies <a href="https://inkfactorystudio.com/">hire</a> comic creators to document corporate meetings visually, so participants can track the flow of ideas in real time. Cartoonists are paid to draft <a href="https://australiacouncil.gov.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Graphic-Storytellers-at-Work-GSAW-Report-Case-Study-One.pdf">innovative, visual contracts</a> for law firms.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=287&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434698/original/file-20211130-17-byrvwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drawing without an intended outcome often ends with surprising results.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Perhaps you were told as a child to stop doodling and get back to work. While drawing is often quiet and introspective, it’s certainly not a “waste of time”. On the contrary, it has significant mental health benefits and should be cultivated in children and adults alike.</p>
<p>How we feel influences <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/261661107_An_Introduction_to_the_Diagnostic_Drawing_Series_A_Standardized_Tool_for_Diagnostic_and_Clinical_Use">how we draw</a>. Likewise, engaging with drawing affects how we feel; it can help us understand and process our inner world.</p>
<p>Art-making can <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0276237420923290">reduce anxiety</a>, <a href="https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ722383">elevate mood</a>, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6124538/">improve quality of life</a> and <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/8bq69315">promote general creativity</a>. Art therapy has even been <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16288447/">linked to</a> reduced symptoms of distress and higher quality of life for cancer patients.</p>
<p>And it can help you enter a “flow state”, where self-consciousness disappears, focus sharpens, work comes easily to you and mental blockages seem to evaporate.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434670/original/file-20211130-19-8x2dla.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making simple repetitive marks is a great way to develop your drawing skills.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Cultivating a drawing habit</h2>
<p>Cultivating a drawing habit means letting go of biases against drawing and against copying others to learn technique. Resisting the urge to critically compare your work to others’ is also important.</p>
<p>Most children don’t care about what’s considered “essential” to a functioning society. They draw instinctively and freely. </p>
<p>Part of the reason drawing rates are thought to be <a href="http://mtoku.yourweb.csuchico.edu/vc/Articles/toku/Toku_what%20is%20manga_.html">higher in Japan</a> is their immersion in Manga (Japanese comics), a broadly popular and culturally important medium. </p>
<p>Another is an emphasis on diligent practice. Children copy and practise the Manga style, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/20716077">providing a critical stepping stone</a> from free scribbling to controlled representation. Copying is not seen as a no-no; it’s integral to building skill.</p>
<p>As researcher and artist Neil Cohn <a href="http://www.visuallanguagelab.com/P/NC_drawingdevelopment.pdf">argues</a>, learning to draw is similar to (and as crucial as) learning language, a skill built through exposure and practice:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Yet, unlike language, we consider it normal for people not to learn to draw, and consider those who do to be exceptional […] Without sufficient practice and exposure to an external system, a basic system persists despite arguably impoverished developmental conditions. </p>
</blockquote>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=558&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434666/original/file-20211130-23-f6ewl7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=701&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Copying art styles adds to your ‘visual library’. From top left: Herge, Tezuka, Brunetti, Miller, Kirby, Woodring.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So choose an art style you love and copy it. Encourage children to while away hours drawing. Don’t worry about how it turns out. Prioritise the conscious experience of drawing over the result.</p>
<p>With regular practice, you may find yourself occasionally melting into states of “<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)">flow</a>”, becoming wholly absorbed. A small, regular pocket of time to temporarily escape the busy world and enter a flow state via drawing may help you in other parts of your life.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=334&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434703/original/file-20211130-28-1q5j6qb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=420&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Drawing doesn’t need to look a certain way. Here, I try different ways of holding the pen, and using my non-dominant hand to draw.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to get started</h2>
<p>Use simple tools that you’re comfortable with, whether it’s a ballpoint pen on post-it notes, pencil on paper, a dirty window, or a foggy mirror. </p>
<p>Times you’d typically be aimlessly scrolling on your phone are prime candidates for a quick sketch. Doodle when you’re on the phone, watching a movie, bored in a waiting room. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/svuOGdAlu2Q?wmode=transparent&start=325" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Follow along in this ten-minute video as I show you how to begin an automatic drawing.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Together with mindful doodling, drawing from observation and memory form a holy trinity of sustainable proficiency.</p>
<p>Drawing from life strengthens your understanding of space and form. Copying other styles gives you a shortcut to new “visual libraries”. Drawing from memory merges the free play of doodling with the mental libraries developed through observation, bringing imagined worlds to life. </p>
<p>With time and persistence, you may find yourself producing drawings you’re proud of. </p>
<p>At that point, you can ask yourself: what other self-limiting beliefs are holding me back?</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=343&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434701/original/file-20211130-19-1j29z91.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=431&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Your drawing style is like a thermometer of how you’re feeling.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Darren C. Fisher</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p><em>You can read other articles in this series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/how-to-guides-113946">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/172623/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Darren C Fisher does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>I’m a keen doodler who turned a hobby into a PhD and then a career. I’ve also seen what hurdles people face when it comes to learning to draw and how they can be overcome.Darren C Fisher, Lecturer in Animation, Swinburne University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1673912021-09-08T14:23:17Z2021-09-08T14:23:17ZTribute to Yusuf Grillo: Nigerian art activist, scholar and bridge builder<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420021/original/file-20210908-22-kj1stl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=132%2C51%2C882%2C465&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Yusuf Grillo contributed significantly to art and art education in Nigeria.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">TY Bello/Instagram</span></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>Nigerian contemporary visual artist and scholar <a href="https://www.vanguardngr.com/2021/08/breaking-legendary-artist-yusuf-grillo-dies-at-87/">Yusuf Grillo</a> died on 23 August 2021, aged 87 years. Art scholar Sule James explains Grillo’s influence and impact on art on the continent.</em></p>
<h2>Who was Yusuf Grillo?</h2>
<p>Yusuf Grillo was not only an artist but also an administrator, educator, and mentor to other artists. He was born in 1934 to the family of Yinus Ventura Grillo and Kalia Grillo in Lagos. His grandfather had returned from Brazil to his African homeland after the abolition of the slave trade. Grillo was identified in Yoruba culture as Omo Arugbo (child of old age) because he was the last of 11 children. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Painting of a woman with eyes closed" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=905&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419988/original/file-20210908-25-m4cumi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1137&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A painting by Yusuf Grillo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bonhams</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>He attended Saint Andrew’s Primary School, Oke Popo, Lagos; Saint Peter’s Primary School, Faji; and the Anglican Christ Church Cathedral School, where Aina Onabolu, the father of modern Nigerian art, was a visiting art teacher. He also attended the Secondary School of the Yaba Technical Institute (now Yaba College of Technology). He learnt and benefited from the artistic practices of other pioneers of modern art in Nigeria, including <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/akinola-lasekan/">Akinola Lasekan</a> and J.K. Oye. (Both were contemporaries of Aina Onabolu).</p>
<p>In 1956, he enrolled to study Fine Arts at the Nigerian College of Art, Science and Technology, Zaria, now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He graduated with a diploma in Fine Arts in 1961, specialising in painting.</p>
<h2>What role did he play in advancing art in Nigeria?</h2>
<p>During his long art career, over six decades, Grillo played a significant role in the advancement of contemporary art and art education in Nigeria. He was a prominent member of the Zaria Art Society, formed by students at his college. Their creative activism left indelible imprints on Nigeria’s artistic terrain. The first three sets of students who graduated in 1959, 1960 and 1961 were not all opposed to the imported curriculum, replete with colonial imprints from the Royal Art School. But they were opposed to their British lecturers’ abhorrence of any African art background in their works. The students saw this as culturally slavish and unrelated to their artistic heritage. </p>
<p>This gave rise to the “Natural Synthesis” artistic ideology, which defined modern African art as a synthesis of the old and the new. The old was the indigenous cultural artistic practices of Africa, while the new was the Eurocentric stylistic variables promoted by the West, especially during the colonial years of the 20th century. The Zaria students stated in their manifesto that they had a duty “to promote, through art, Nigerian cultural values with utmost dedication, love, and willpower”. They passionately pursued this ideology and explored indigenous themes in their art.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A painting of a man and woman on a bicycle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/419992/original/file-20210908-13-1va0mj0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A painting by Yusuf Grillo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Bonhams</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>These pioneering members of the Zaria Art School may be perceived as classmates but they were not. Their years of training in Zaria simply overlapped. Grillo personified the spirit of “Zarianism” as he was sensitive to Yoruba traditions and drew inspiration for his works from that culture. In doing so, he represented images from Yoruba traditions that echo the lived experiences of people in fashionable Yoruba cultural dress forms.</p>
<p>Another major role Grillo and other “Zarianists” played in advancing art in Nigeria was towards the establishment and growth of other art institutions in the country. Grillo laid the artistic foundation at Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, where he taught art for several years from the early 1960s and served as head of department for 26 years.</p>
<h2>What was the core of his work?</h2>
<p>The bulk of Grillo’s works show the influence of Yoruba culture, through which he forged his interest in creating African cultural identity. His subject matter was influenced by human activity. His themes are derived from everyday life events around him, rooted in Yoruba indigenous context. Although a devout Muslim, Grillo installed many splendid stained glass designs in churches in Nigeria. He participated in several group and solo exhibitions and produced large bodies of paintings in public and private collections.</p>
<h2>What techniques was he famous for?</h2>
<p>Although Grillo is famous for Western naturalistic style, the technique he is known for is the use of planular forms and angular structures which found an appropriate correlation in the Yoruba wood carving style. His works highlight more vigorous engagement with the blue, purple, and green palettes. The formal characteristics of his paintings show stylised and elongated figures. They are easily identified by their slimness, elegance and grace, which represents the contemporary ideal of beauty in the Lagos of his youth. </p>
<p>The style and techniques of Grillo’s works must also have been influenced by his interest in mathematics and experiments with cubist forms, using bolder geometric shapes. In addition, his interaction with architects and workshop training he attended in Bradford in Britain taught him about stained glass techniques. It also spurred his interest in mosaic, santex, and other materials which can be used to embellish buildings on monumental scales.</p>
<h2>What legacy does he leave?</h2>
<p>It might be argued that the most enduring legacy Grillo bestowed is his faithfulness to Yoruba culture without ossifying traditions. He represents a creative bridge that filled the transitory gap between dynamic Yoruba wood carving traditions and contemporary Yoruba art.</p>
<p>He will be remembered for the gaps he filled, the many artists he mentored, his creative works and for laying the foundation of modern art in Yaba College of Technology, Lagos.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/167391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sule James does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Yusuf Grillo charted a path in African art and enabled the emergence of more artists.Sule James, Research Associate, University of JohannesburgLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1387062020-06-03T14:45:22Z2020-06-03T14:45:22ZCOVID-19 murals express hope and help envision urban futures<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338388/original/file-20200528-51462-119p2k0.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=59%2C165%2C3886%2C2751&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Rather than blank boarded-up storefronts, artists in Vancouver have created murals to offer inspiration, public health messaging and beauty during the coronavirus pandemic. This one is by Will Phillips.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Eugene McCann)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Urban public spaces have been transforming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Storefronts in once-bustling shopping districts have been boarded up with plywood. In many cities, large temporary boards have <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/04/06/coronavirus-themed-murals-from-around-the-world.html">gradually been painted with murals</a>.</p>
<p>In Vancouver, B.C., there are three types of new murals: inspirational works of general encouragement and gratitude toward essential workers; informational murals, conveying warnings and advice; and decorative, largely abstract, paintings adding colour to the plywood.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/indignacao-brazilian-street-art-in-its-historical-context-27926">Cities have always had street art</a>, but what should we make of these recent murals? Our research looks at how public space is essential to political debate about urban futures. </p>
<p>In our critical reading of the COVID-19 murals, the artists are expressing specific visions of the future. Our analysis also raises questions about whose visions for the future are less evident in the murals.</p>
<h2>Murals tell stories and are political</h2>
<p>Thin veneers of paint on walls, murals seem one-dimensional. Yet, they reference and resonate across numerous aspects of life. Murals take up space. </p>
<p>They often commemorate and glorify particular stories of the past, like conservative tales of empire or the “good old days.” Murals also <a href="https://www.twincities.com/2020/05/30/stunning-mural-of-george-floyd-provides-minneapolis-community-a-place-to-process/">memorialize victims of injustice</a> — as the ones for George Floyd have done. These murals are intended to inspire progressive change and they <a href="https://sparcinla.org/">celebrate movements that have fought for that change</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338978/original/file-20200601-95013-1niruty.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=516&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">People gather at a memorial mural painted on Chicago Avenue in South Minneapolis where George Floyd was killed by police.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Brian Peterson/Star Tribune/AP)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Murals are also future-oriented. They invoke opportunities and desired social change. Thus, they are political. Researchers and activists pay attention to murals as <a href="https://themainlander.com/2016/10/05/vancouver-mural-festival-is-caught-up-in-gentrification/">harbingers of gentrification</a>, as indicators of <a href="https://theconversation.com/speaking-with-cameron-mcauliffe-on-graffiti-art-and-crime-39183">local economic development priorities</a>, as <a href="https://theconversation.com/street-art-personal-creations-get-political-with-public-messaging-115945">grassroots pedagogy</a> and as expressions of <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2427.12053">struggles over the city</a>.</p>
<p>Murals tell stories that are shaped by their artists and funders. They represent partial stories about what is important in the world and who is an important member of the public.</p>
<h2>COVID-19 murals</h2>
<p>In Vancouver, officially curated <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-artists-fight-back-against-coronavirus-with-hope-heart-and-public/">murals have been painted by local artists</a> during the crisis. They’re commissioned and supported by the city, store owners, business improvement associations, the local <a href="https://www.vanmuralfest.ca/">Mural Festival organization</a>, a graffiti removal company and a credit union. </p>
<p>Inspirational murals, like the masked angelic health professional by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/sketchbork/">Will Phillips</a> in downtown Vancouver, represent the care and professional competence of health-care and other essential workers. These murals often contain portraits of individuals or small groups in monumental, heroic or even quasi-religious poses. They feature personal care workers who, until recently, may have been taken for granted.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338933/original/file-20200601-95018-ybdd9h.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Tha Virus,’ a collaboration between artist Smokey D and community advocate Karen Ward with a public health message.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Eugene McCann)</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Informational murals convey advice. For example, <a href="https://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/coronavirus-street-art-to-inform-residents-on-vancouvers-downtown-eastside/ar-BB12eYDo">artist Smokey D’s mural, a collaboration with community advocate Karen Ward</a>, advises physical distancing, frequent hand-washing, less face-touching and provides statistics on the global impact of the virus. Funded by the city and located in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, home to many people with health vulnerabilities, this mural is part of a wider ecosystem of grassroots outreach work, as well as traditional sources of news. </p>
<p>Compared to inspirational murals, informational ones often encourage self-help and awareness for survival.</p>
<p>Decorative murals are less likely to emphasize a message or an individual. Instead, they tend to mirror the esthetic of the retail store on which they are painted, either in their colour scheme or motifs. Their purpose is to make shuttered retail streetscapes more attractive, thus encouraging customers to return, while leaving the interpretation of the art up to their audience. They avoid taking a stand that might alienate any viewers.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338936/original/file-20200601-95028-copms9.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Decorative murals, like this one by Victoria Siecz are not message-centric but are esthetic offerings that enhance commissioning businesses.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/victoriasiecz/">(Eugene McCann)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Reading and re-writing the city</h2>
<p>Urban geographers have long approached the city <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/geography/human-geography/city-text-politics-landscape-interpretation-kandyan-kingdom?format=PB">as a text</a> <a href="https://www.mcny.org/exhibition/city-canvas">or canvas</a> that can be read to understand how it is shaped by political, economic, social and cultural forces and values. </p>
<p>Reading the murals commissioned by local government and business allows us to see a heightened appreciation of care work; a commitment to the well-being of the most vulnerable, and a concern about the future of brick-and-mortar retail.</p>
<p>Yet, official narratives are only part of the story. While these murals reflect approved messages, images, values and agendas, other artists, painting and creating in less official capacities, are mainly left out of the picture, with less resources. Thus, their messages are less likely to gain public attention. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339043/original/file-20200602-95024-1cumj0e.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Izzie Cheung and Brian Heimowski created this inspirational mural of respiratory therapists.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.instagram.com/this_iz_art/">(Eugene McCann)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There are no critiques of <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/commentary/fast-facts-homelessness-precarious-housing-and-covid-19">housing precarity</a>, <a href="https://www.policynote.ca/seniors-care-profit/">health-care funding</a> or <a href="https://nupge.ca/sites/default/files/pdf/COVID-19%20and%20Income%20Inequality%20Paper.pdf">income inequality</a> in the officially sanctioned murals.</p>
<p>This is not to say the commissioned murals are apolitical. The inspirational and informational murals contain latent calls for increased public funding for public health care, decent housing and social services for essential workers and for people who are low-income earners. </p>
<p>The decorative murals may raise questions about the long-term value and viability of urban shopping districts. Their presence may subtly ask passersby if they are willing to find public solutions to the threat of e-commerce.</p>
<p>Murals are remarkably ephemeral. Unless maintained assiduously, they quickly fade. COVID-19 murals are <a href="https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/robson-street-boarding-dismantled-reopening">particularly fleeting</a>, since they are painted on temporary hoardings. Similarly, supportive feelings about essential workers, vulnerable neighbours and local businesses, can quickly fade, especially when other economic priorities arise. </p>
<p>Public art invites us to think about what stories are being told to us — and by whom. We should also be aware of the stories we are not being told. Art can offer this sort of comprehensive, critical reading of the world and its possible futures. It can inspire progressive political coalitions to work toward a more just society. If they succeed, an artist will paint them in a mural one day.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138706/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eugene McCann receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dr. Friederike Landau receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lise Mahieus receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.</span></em></p>During COVID-19, boarded-up storefronts host various new types of inspirational, informational and decorative murals that should be read critically as representing political agendas for the future.Eugene McCann, Professor of Geography, Simon Fraser UniversityFriederike Landau, Postdoctoral Researcher, Geography, Simon Fraser UniversityLise Mahieus, MA student, Geography, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/864312017-10-30T01:52:47Z2017-10-30T01:52:47ZThe misguided campaign to remove a Thomas Hart Benton mural<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192263/original/file-20171027-13331-5xm60h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Thomas Hart Benton's murals at the Indiana University Auditorium depict the social history of the state.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/josepha/4947796013/in/photostream/">Joseph</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In recent years, people have protested the racism of <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-confederate-statue-debate-3-essential-reads-82729">Confederate statues</a>, <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-oscars-so-white-reaction-htmlstory.html">Hollywood</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-research-shows-how-native-american-mascots-reinforce-stereotypes-63861">sports mascots</a>.</p>
<p>But a curious campaign has taken place on Indiana University’s Bloomington campus. Students have circulated petitions and organized protests seeking the removal or destruction of painter Thomas Hart Benton’s <a href="http://www.iuauditorium.com/about-us/thomas-hart-benton-murals">1933 mural</a> “A Social History of Indiana,” which contains an image of the Ku Klux Klan. </p>
<p>“It is past time that Indiana University take a stand and denounce hate and intolerance in Indiana and on IU’s campus,” <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2017/08/30/petition-calls-removal-iu-bloomington-mural-depicting-kkk-rally/610455001/">a petition from August read</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192257/original/file-20171027-13327-1n7wv1u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=621&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A detail from the controversial panel of Benton’s mural.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://c1.staticflickr.com/8/7542/15667217698_fd4fc33e3f_b.jpg">Bart Everson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In September, <a href="http://indianapublicmedia.org/news/iu-longer-hold-classes-room-controversial-kkk-mural-128521/">the university announced</a> that it would stop holding classes in the room where Benton’s painting is placed, and it would keep the room sealed off from the general public.</p>
<p>As the author of four books on Benton, I propose that the protesters take a closer look at Benton’s life and Indiana’s political history before they reflexively denounce the mural’s imagery.</p>
<h2>A painter of the people</h2>
<p>Along with Grant Wood (of “<a href="http://www.americangothichouse.net/about/the-painting/">American Gothic</a>” fame), Thomas Hart Benton was the leader of the <a href="http://benton.truman.edu/murals_regionalism.html">Regionalist movement in American art</a>, which proposed that sections of the country hitherto thought of as artistic wastelands, such as the South and the Midwest, could be suitable subjects for art. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=759&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192251/original/file-20171027-13355-uyjkpv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=954&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thomas Hart Benton painted large murals that depicted the country’s social, labor and political history.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Associated-Press-Domestic-News-United-States-TH-/9dd0c66a61e5da11af9f0014c2589dfb/1/0">AP Photo</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Benton’s “<a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/bent/hd_bent.htm">America Today</a>” (which can now be viewed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art) was the first major American mural painting to focus on contemporary working-class Americans, rather than heroes in colonial garb or allegorical figures. </p>
<p>Throughout his life and career, the painter adamantly denounced racism. One of the very first articles he published, a 1924 essay in the journal “Arts,” contains a snide dismissal of the Klan. In 1935, he took part in a widely publicized exhibition, “An Art Commentary on Lynching,” organized by the NAACP and staged at the Arthur Newton Gallery in New York; and in 1940 he explicitly denounced racism of any sort, declaring: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>“We in this country put no stock in racial genius. We do not believe that because a man comes from one strain rather than another, he starts with superior equipment.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>What’s more, to a degree very unusual at the time, Benton actively sought out and befriended African-Americans. He taught African-Americans in his art classes, used African-Americans as models for his paintings and invited African-Americans to dinner in his Kansas City home (a gesture that was still raising eyebrows in the city in the 1980s, when I worked as a curator there). He even learned to speak <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gullah_language">Gullah</a>, the African-American dialect of the Sea Islands. </p>
<h2>The Klan in Indiana</h2>
<p>Benton’s murals take on added significance when we consider their historical context. (Art historians Kathleen Foster and Nanette Brewer tell the full story in their <a href="http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/product_info.php?products_id=60945">excellent catalogue on the murals</a>.) </p>
<p>In the 1920s, the Klan <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=xa0pAAAACAAJ&dq=klan+in+indiana&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwigsseuiJHXAhVGSSYKHQ4zB54Q6AEILDAB">dominated Indiana politics</a>. Counting among its members the governor of Indiana and more than half of the state legislature, it had over 250,000 members – about one-third of all white men in the state. While devoted to denying equal rights to African-Americans, the group also denounced Jews, Catholics and immigrants. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/192254/original/file-20171027-13319-o39gqo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=907&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">D.C. Stephenson, the Grand Dragon of Indiana’s Ku Klux Klan.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9d/D._C._Stephenson_Grand_Dragon_of_the_Klu_Klux_Klan_in_Indiana%2C_c_1922.jpg">Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Only the relentless coverage of the Indianapolis Times turned the tide of popular opinion. Because of the paper’s reporting, the state’s KKK leader, D.C. Stephenson, was convicted of rape and murder of a young schoolteacher.</p>
<p>Stephenson’s subsequent testimony from prison would bring down the mayor of Indianapolis, L. Ert Slack, and Governor Edward L. Jackson, both of whom had forged close political and personal relationships with the Klan. In 1928, the Indianapolis Times <a href="http://www.pulitzer.org/winners/indianapolis-times">won a Pulitzer Prize</a> for its investigative work. </p>
<p>Five years later, a handful of state leaders approached Benton to see if he would be able to paint a mural for the Indiana pavilion at the Chicago World’s Fair. The group included progressive architect Thomas Hibben and Richard Lieber, the head of the state’s park system. (Lieber appears on the right side of the controversial panel, planting a tree.)</p>
<p>They seem to have chosen Benton because of his progressive political views. But they were also drawn to Benton because no other American artist seemed capable of completing such a massive undertaking on such a short deadline.</p>
<p>The fair was less than six months away. </p>
<h2>A refusal to whitewash history</h2>
<p>Working at a frantic pace, Benton spent the ensuing months traveling around the state and making studies. Then, in a mere 62 days, he executed the entire project, which was over 12 feet high, 250 feet long and contained several hundred figures. It was the equivalent of producing a new, six-by-eight-foot painting every day for 62 straight days.</p>
<p>In 1941, the murals were installed in the auditorium at Indiana University Bloomington, where they remain today.</p>
<p><a href="https://mwcapacity.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/benton_mural.jpg">In the controversial panel</a>, Benton painted a reporter, a photographer and a printer into the foreground – an homage to the press of Indiana for breaking the power of the Klan. In the center, a white nurse tends both black and white children in City Hospital (now Wishard Hospital).</p>
<p>The sinister figures of the Klan are visible in the background, behind the hospital beds – a reminder, perhaps, that racial progress can always slide backwards.</p>
<p>As Lauren Robel, the provost at the University of Indiana, <a href="https://provost.indiana.edu/statements/archive/benton-murals.html">recently wrote</a> in a statement to the university community:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>“Every society that has gone through divisive trauma of any kind has learned the bitter lesson of suppressing memories and discussion of its past; Benton’s murals are intended to provoke thought.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Benton clearly felt that the state government’s support of the Klan was something that should not be whitewashed.</p>
<p>He applied the same approach a few years later in his murals in the Missouri State Capitol: <a href="http://benton.truman.edu/highslide/images/large/mural05.jpg">They open with a scene</a> of a fur trader selling whiskey to the Indians, and <a href="http://benton.truman.edu/highslide/images/large/mural01.jpg">close with a scene</a> of Kansas City’s notorious political boss, <a href="https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/people/pendergast-machine/">Tom Pendergast</a>, sitting in a nightclub with two trustees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Not everyone in Missouri was pleased.</p>
<p>Interestingly, representations of the Klan by other artists of the 1930s, such as <a href="http://collection.whitney.org/object/533">Philip Guston</a> and <a href="http://artandsocialissues.cmaohio.org/web-content/pages/race_jones_amj.html">Joe Jones</a>, continue to hang in museums. No one has proposed that they be taken off view. Something about the fact that Benton brought his paintings out of museums – and into public spaces not consecrated to “art” – seems to have given his work an in-your-face immediacy that still stirs up controversy. </p>
<p>I find it rather sad that the paintings have been taken off view; if it’s the only way to ensure the safety of the paintings, it’s the right decision. But hopefully it’s a temporary one.</p>
<p>At the heart of the matter is the question of whether we should seek to try to forget the dark episodes of the past, or whether we should continue to confront them, discuss them and learn from them.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86431/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Adams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>A controversial panel on Indiana University’s campus depicts Ku Klux Klan members, but Benton had a reason for including them. Is avoidance really the best way to deal with dark episodes of the past?Henry Adams, Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/809462017-07-17T23:05:37Z2017-07-17T23:05:37ZPowerful painting inspires composer to connect Canadians<p>Composing music usually involves so many small conceptual decisions that it is often impossible to pinpoint a true “eureka” moment of inspiration. </p>
<p>However, as a composer, I have occasionally stumbled upon an instance when the spark of an idea burns so brightly that it becomes permanently etched in my mind. The brilliance with which these moments flash can even become so pronounced that, despite the endless hours overcoming the work’s technical and editing challenges, I still find myself vividly returning to this initial vision. </p>
<p>I had been searching for an idea with sufficient Canadian heft to help recognize Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation when I experienced such a moment on Feb. 11, 2015. I opened the <em>Globe and Mail</em> newspaper to see a photograph of a one-day installation that artist <a href="http://maxwellnewhouse.com">Maxwell Newhouse</a> had presented in B.C. in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Canadian flag. Titled <em>Four Seasons of the Canadian Flag</em>, it is a simple but resonatingly profound concept. Maxwell Newhouse painted four large canvases to present the flag’s maple leaf in a state to match each season. </p>
<p>I immediately felt that these four canvasses demanded a musical interpretation. Certainly Vivaldi has done well with his four concertos modelled on the seasons. </p>
<p>In Newhouse’s interpretation of the seasons, summer has the familiar full-sized maple leaf; the autumn leaf is withered; winter abandons the leaf entirely and spring sprouts a sprig. Newhouse created this work 42 years ago in 1975 to recognize the 10th anniversary of the Canadian flag. He holds the patent on the images. </p>
<p>Within an hour of seeing Newhouse’s work, we had the first of many phone conversations. He not only provided his blessing for my vision of rendering his artwork in music, he even painted for me the single canvas version of all four flags (pictured above). </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.nyoc.org">National Youth Orchestra of Canada</a> (NYOC) embraced the idea as well and commissioned the work to be premiered during their <a href="http://www.nyoc.org/burge">2017 national tour</a>. The NYOC is a large, 100-player orchestra and much larger than many other orchestras that lack such instrumental forces. For this reason, we decided to make a smaller orchestra version at the same time to help the work more readily gain a place in the Canadian orchestral repertoire. Soon, both the Saskatoon and Kingston Symphony Orchestras joined in as co-commissioners and the Ontario Arts Council provided the funding.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=398&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/178508/original/file-20170717-6084-1tqxtf4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=500&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The NYOC holds a training and rehearsal session for their Canada 150 tour, Edges of Canada.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(NYOC)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Music for our Canadian seasons</h2>
<p>With the creative luxury of having more than two years to compose this work, I spent much of 2015 thinking about the representational aspects of the four canvases. How could my music capture this profound and beautiful imagery? </p>
<p>Eventually I decided to emphasize the circular nature of the seasons. The music for the opening movement, “Summer,” would feature a prominent melody to be broken down into fragments that would form the building blocks of “Spring.” </p>
<p>Very much like our own Canadian experience of what can sometimes seem like an endless spring — the orchestral “Spring” becomes one long crescendo that ends triumphantly with the “Summer” melody waiting to break forth. </p>
<p>“Fall” finds its shape in a slow movement that stresses descending lines and “Winter” features brutal brass chordal gestures and other stark contrasts. </p>
<p>In Newhouse’s “Winter” flag the space is empty between the red sidebars. Another viewpoint of this would be to see the middle space covered entirely by white paint, which is close to what most Canadians see outside their windows at that time of year. This kind of focused emotional stasis is often captured in this movement with the crystal-like clarity of metallic percussion instruments.</p>
<h2>Embracing the constraint of time</h2>
<p>Over the years, experience has taught me that beyond finding the right notes and instrumental shadings, one of the most important compositional constraints is the work’s overall duration. It is so easy to write too much music. Even more importantly, the NYOC’s programming demands required that my composition not exceed 20 minutes. </p>
<p>Still, it only occurred to me late in the writing process that I had made an initial error in trying to keep each of the four movements within the same five-minute range. All the movements wanted to be a bit longer and the prospect of making a number of little surgical cuts was beginning to compromise the vision seen in that initial spark. </p>
<p>Finally, I realized that the best solution was to recognize what all Canadians already know — with very few exceptions — summer always feels like the shortest season in Canada. As a result, “Summer” bore all the cuts and in a fashion that all Canadians can relate to, this movement flies by far too quickly. </p>
<h2>Canadians all experience four seasons</h2>
<p>I feel blessed to live in a wonderful country and although I spend a great deal of time admiring our artists, musicians, writers and landscape, it was only very recently that I myself figured out the subtle inferences that are tied up in the artwork that first inspired me back in February 2015. </p>
<p>Canada has one of the most recognizable flags in the the world and, while Canadians may not collectively agree on too many things as a nation, many view the flag as a beautiful emblem of our country’s hopes and promises. As well, having such a varied and formidable climate means that the weather, and our changing seasons, preoccupy our thoughts. </p>
<p>Max Newhouse wrapped both of these iconic aspects of our Canadian identity into his <em>Four Seasons of the Canadian Flag</em>. To have the opportunity to musically reflect on his creativity is a privilege and I will always remember the moment when I first knew there was music in these paintings.</p>
<p><em>The Saskatoon Symphony premiered the small orchestra version of “Four Seasons of the Canadian Flag” on May 13, 2017 and the Kingston Symphony has programmed their performance for October 22, 2017. The NYOC presents the large orchestra version in Stratford (July 20), Montreal (July 23) and Nanaimo (August 13). The 4:00 pm July 23 Montreal performance at Maison Symphonique will be streamed live and later archived on <a href="http://www.cbcmusic.ca/posts/18797/webcast-national-youth-orchestra-canada-montreal">CBC</a>.</em></p>
<p><em>There is no recorded audio yet of “Four Seasons of the Canadian Flag,” but you can listen to a movement from John Burge’s 2009 Juno-winning composition, “Flanders Fields Reflections” as recorded by Sinfonia Toronto on <a href="http://www.marquisclassics.com/prod-Flanders_Fields_Reflections-159.aspx">Marquis Classics</a>:</em></p>
<p><audio preload="metadata" controls="controls" data-duration="438" data-image="" data-title="Loved and Were Loved" data-size="7021713" data-source="John Burge" data-source-url="" data-license="Author provided (no reuse)" data-license-url="">
<source src="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/831/ffr-4.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>
<div class="audio-player-caption">
Loved and Were Loved.
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Burge</span>, <span class="license">Author provided (no reuse)</span><span class="download"><span>6.7 MB</span> <a target="_blank" href="https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/831/ffr-4.mp3">(download)</a></span></span>
</div></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80946/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Burge does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Composer John Burge speaks of his drive to create a musical piece to mark Canada’s 150th year of confederation and to capture our collective experiences.John Burge, Professor of Composition and Theory, Queen's University, OntarioLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/679912016-11-06T20:27:18Z2016-11-06T20:27:18ZFogies, insiders and press release summarisers: art criticism in Australia<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144493/original/image-20161103-25343-wuymay.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Why is criticism so often associated with killjoy negativity? It can convey joy as well as discrimination.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Byron Barrett/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>What is the state of art criticism in Australia? The short answer is that it is desultory. Guided by stock responses and assumptions, Australian art criticism rarely helps viewers understand the challenges of new work.</p>
<p>The default position usually adopted by radio and television journalists is to read an artist’s work through their biographical details. For them, the artist’s life provides the key to understanding art. This reductive approach sheds almost no light on the art, except in some very unusual circumstances.</p>
<p>Print and online journalism isn’t much better. In Australian newspapers (both broadsheet and tabloid) there is a long tradition of the curmudgeon critic. Usually, these conservative critics have no formal training in art or art history, their chief distinguishing feature is that they are able to hold and express strong opinions. In other words, they have the stomach for dissent. At least on that score they are predictable: they dislike everything that is not modelled on the art of at least two centuries ago.</p>
<p>To continue the typology of Australian art critics, alongside the young or old fogies, there is also the effusive insider. Often these writers are artists, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say they were artists. They are always a part of the art world, which is where they socialise and have friendship ties. They are enthusiastic about art, which is clearly an improvement on the curmudgeon.</p>
<p>But if the curmudgeon is too far away from art, and a constructive approach to its criticism, the insiders are just too close to see clearly. They are not able to perform the crucial task of discrimination. Finally, there’s the press release summariser. Nervous by nature, they tend to be so concerned about not making an error that they make no judgments at all.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=396&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144337/original/image-20161103-25319-x6h3jo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The curmudgeon critic perseveres.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bc-burnslibrary/6766005689/">Burns Library, Boston College/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Over the years there may have been critics that escape this typology, but these are the main recurrent characters in the mainstream media. It is extremely disappointing that we don’t currently have dazzling art criticism, but then in my living memory we never have had. </p>
<p>Certainly, I haven’t read locally produced art criticism that was truly revelatory in the way that New Yorker critic Peter Schjeldahl’s writing consistently is.
Just to give one example, last week I read <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/10/17/agnes-martin-a-matter-of-fact-mystic">Schjeldahl’s review in The New Yorker</a> of the Agnes Martin retrospective currently on show at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. It is criticism perfection. He writes beautifully (he is a poet after all), he provides a way to look at Martin’s work that is simply dazzling, and he supplies erudite background on the artist and her difficult life without assigning any superior explanatory power to such biographical details.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=541&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144340/original/image-20161103-25343-1rx76rz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=679&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Agnes Martin, Untitled, 1960.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rocor/29445494221/">rocor/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In a recent impassioned defence of <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2016/october/1475244000/alison-croggon/culture-crisis">the role of criticism in The Monthly</a>, theatre critic Alison Croggon has identified the true social, political and cultural costs of the failure to produce and sustain good criticism. Without what she calls the “hinge” between artwork and public that good criticism forges, it is hard to argue for the value of the arts more generally.</p>
<p>At the moment, when advocates for the arts are really crucial, she argues the lack of rigorous criticism is even more keenly felt. Yet, as her article also underscores, we know there is very widespread interest in the arts — there is ample evidence for this in attendance figures and various national surveys. So why is there no vibrant critical culture to support and amplify that interest?</p>
<p>Jane Howard argues Australians simply aren’t interested in the conversation that criticism creates. That is how she concludes her very depressing <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/oct/24/australias-culture-of-arts-criticism-is-broken-and-theres-no-clear-way-to-fix-it">article in The Guardian</a> titled “Australia’s culture of arts criticism is broken and there’s no clear way to fix it.” </p>
<p>I certainly don’t know how to fix this problem either but I suspect the lack of interest has a lot to do with the so-called negative role of the critic. How often as teachers or critics have we been told that the analysis of books, films and other cultural artefacts spoils people’s pleasure in them? I’ve lost count of the times I’ve heard criticism equated with killjoy negativity.</p>
<p>In her very powerful advocacy of criticism, interestingly, Croggon emphasises the connections critics make: between one work of art and another, between the context of the work and the ideas it might embody. Focusing on connections underscores the constructive role of the critic.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/144497/original/image-20161103-25346-qletm9.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The critic can be like a ‘window cleaner’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Ani-Bee/flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Returning to my favourite critic, what I particularly like about Schjeldahl’s criticism is that it is enabling. He takes something difficult, like Agnes Martin’s paintings, and provides a really superb pathway into looking at them, experiencing them, and thinking about them.</p>
<p>This is the role a theatre friend of mine described as acting like “a window cleaner” for the non-art person. I like the idea of being a window cleaner for the visual arts that I value.</p>
<p>While there is still discrimination here, there is also the amplification of pleasure. Killjoy but also giver of joy; surely that’s a conversation worth having?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67991/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Best receives funding from the Australian Research Council, and the Australia Council for the Arts. </span></em></p>Grumpy curmudgeons, ex-artists writing about friends … art critics here rarely help viewers understand the challenges of new work.Susan Best, Professor of Art Theory and Fine Art, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/650112016-09-07T19:20:07Z2016-09-07T19:20:07ZUnder the influence of … Dumile Feni’s ‘African Guernica’<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/136886/original/image-20160907-16611-16gemxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Dumile Feni's 'African Guernica' - charcoal on paper.</span> </figcaption></figure><p><em>In our regular series, “Under the influence”, we ask experts to share what they believe are the most influential works of art in their field. Here, artist/academic Sharlene Khan explains why she finds South African artist Dumile Feni’s “African Guernica” (ca 1967) hugely influential.</em></p>
<h2>My relationship with the work</h2>
<p>Standing in front of South African visual artist <a href="http://www.revisions.co.za/biographies/dumile-feni/#.V8_3Qfl97IU">Dumile Feni</a>’s “<a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/dumile-feni-biography-sophia-reuss">African Guernica</a>” when I was 19 years old at the University of Fort Hare Gallery in 1996 felt like something between hero-worship and a pilgrimage. At high school, Feni was one of my “favourite” artists, in the way one speaks of favourites in one’s youth. </p>
<p>I loved seemingly tortured “expressionistic” artists like <a href="http://www.artble.com/artists/honore_daumier">Honoré Daumier</a>, <a href="http://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh">Vincent Van Gogh</a>, <a href="http://www.franciscogoya.com/">Francisco Goya</a>, <a href="http://honolulumuseum.org/art/exhibitions/15899-k_kollwitz/">Käthe Kollwitz</a>, <a href="http://www.revisions.co.za/biographies/cyprian-shilakoe/#.V8_7sPl97IU">Cyprien Shilakoe</a> and Feni. They seemed to understand the depth of human suffering. Their commentary undercut politics to question the very soul of human beings. </p>
<p>“African Guernica” – often spoken in relation to Spaniard Pablo Picasso’s equally haunting work <a href="http://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp">commentary</a> on the plight of war in his country – surpassed this for me.</p>
<h2>Why it is/was influential</h2>
<p>In recent years, the <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern">Tate Modern Gallery</a> in London has a room with the two massive pieces of Leon Golub’s <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/golub-vietnam-ii-t13702">“Vietnam II”</a> (1973) and Dia al-Azzawi’s <a href="http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/al-azzawi-sabra-and-shatila-massacre-t14116">“Sabra and Shatila Massacre”</a> (1983). Both pieces, like Picasso’s “Guernica” (1937), deal with the trauma and devastation of conflict and war in very different contexts. Golub’s concerns the American invasion of Vietnam and Azzawi’s the murder of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in Lebanon. </p>
<p>Looking at these works, I often thought about how Feni’s work was part of the dialogue of political unrest and human suffering on display. But while Golub, Azzawi and Picasso’s works all communicate feelings of chaos, conflict and trauma, Feni’s work has always stood out for the feeling of insanity that he visualises metaphorically.</p>
<p>In Feni’s painting we see a scene dominated by various animal and pseudo-human figures. A double-headed cow turns its back on us while it suckles a child at its teats. A grotesque naked squealing human figure, head a-kilter, seems to be splitting from itself with a third leg. Two groping figures seem to see each other and are alarmed. Another strange-armed figure is seated at a table as if awaiting a meal, while he seems to be begging at the same time. Yet another of these figures seems to be the harbinger of doom – perhaps one of the four biblical horsemen except his steed seems to be more of a comical cow. </p>
<p>Other animals (cows, ducks, cat, fowl) roam the landscape. These figures are stark white against a darkened background which contains repetitions of this maddened scene (as well as wandering figures). It is a visualisation perhaps of the seven deadly biblical sins, except there is no god to judge or save. Can this abyss be likened to our unconscious, the residual in which we seem to be a chaotic folk, a scene in which rational actions are furthered into the insane? </p>
<p>Human beings make art. We reason. We have evolved beyond the basic needs of survival. But in Feni’s “African Guernica” we see exactly the tensions of an artist commenting on the insanity of reason which results in the oppression of one human being by another. </p>
<p>It was done in 1967 when the world was contesting race, gender, sexuality and neo-colonialisms. One assumes that Feni is commenting on colonial racism that by this time has become institutionalised as <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/apartheid-and-reactions-it">apartheid</a> in South Africa. European colonial-modernist racist propaganda functioned on the rationalisation that certain groups of human beings were lower down the evolutionary chain. It operated on the “fact” of these groups’ proximity to animals, that could therefore be regarded as animals, as devoid of human thinking and feeling. </p>
<h2>Almost-but-not-right</h2>
<p>Primitives were almost-but-not quite, almost-but-not-white, almost-but-not-right. Postcolonial theorist <a href="https://prelectur.stanford.edu/lecturers/bhabha/mimicry.html">Homi K Bhabha</a> reminds us that the slippage of this “almost-but-not-quiteness” was not merely justification that allowed the denigration and economic exploitation of certain bodies. But that it was a desire, an imagination that allowed a distinction between a higher order and the lower order, gave a group of people’s its idea of itself through a “not-quiteness” of the Other. </p>
<p>This was a cultural supremacy that could enslave men and women and treat them as animals. It could create complex systems of colonial order across the globe in order to claim and access natural resources, including bodies. This supremacy could systematically control, segregate and annihilate millions of people. </p>
<p>It is not just the heinousness of the act of war and the resultant trauma that is atrocious for Feni living in a legislated system of human degradation. It is also the very mindsets and societal values that lead to a warped society where we no longer can separate human from animals. A society where animals may seem more humane than the folks they are meant to serve.</p>
<p>The stark whitened figures which are visually disjunctive with their background should read as “positive” images – white against black. And yet one wonders if they are rather voids, an outline of a thing that has become distorted in its “thing-ness”? </p>
<p>And what to say of the darkened figures in the abyss? Are they the colonised man that repeats at a distance actions which are not his own as psychoanalyst Frantz Fanon eulogises in “<a href="http://abahlali.org/files/__Black_Skin__White_Masks__Pluto_Classics_.pdf">Black Skin, White Masks</a>”?</p>
<h2>Why it is still relevant</h2>
<p>In a darkened Rhodes University Theatre in July 2016 a <a href="https://www.nationalartsfestival.co.za/events/animal-farm/">new staging</a> of “<a href="http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100011h.html">Animal Farm</a>” directed by Neil Coppen, features a cast of six young black South African women (Mpume Mthombeni, Tshego Khutoane, MoMo Matsunyane, Mandisa Nduana, Khutjo Bakunzi-Green and Zesuliwe Hadebe). <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/orwell_george.shtml">George Orwell</a>’s 1945 story has become a classic, prophetic of the manner in which communist ideals devolve into capitalistic nightmares. The cast is utterly brilliant in their multiple roles – in the manner in which their bodies enact the animal characters and slide into present day critiques of democratic capitalistic governing models, in particular but certainly not limited to South Africa. </p>
<p>Several times during the play Feni’s “African Guernica” comes to mind as exploitation and human abasement, first as tragedy, then, in its repetition, turns to farce. Great for comedy, for theatre, for visual art metaphors, much less funny in reality.</p>
<p>The power of Feni’s “African Guernica” is not simply that he blatantly recognised the insanity of white colonial racist rule. Nor is it that he recognised how everyone in a warped system loses their “humanity”. It is also not only that he visualised local conditions of human oppression, nor that, even like Orwell’s text, it seems prophetic of days to come.</p>
<p>But rather, it is like the Goyas, Daumiers, Orwells and many other insightful creative intellectuals throughout time and in various societies, sensing the power and chaos that lurks in all of us to rationalise our ways as the next oppressors, the next supremacists, harbingers of truths, civilisation and order, even when madness unfolds before our very eyes.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/65011/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sharlene Khan receives funding from National Research Foundation, National Arts Council. </span></em></p>‘African Guernica’ is an incredibly powerful work of art in many ways, importantly filling that space between the visible and the visible.Sharlene Khan, Senior Lecturer of Art History and Visual Culture, Rhodes UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.