1964 Is A 'Go!'

     Today, we're going to be looking at a very profound piece of art.  So profound, in fact, that President Obama hung it in the White House.  Immediately upon seeing this painting, one becomes aware of its significance.  This painting is Norman Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With."

"The Problem We All Live With" - 1964

     Now, let me start with the immediately noticeable: the title.  When you hear "The Problem We All Live With," what do you expect?  You likely expect (like I did) a depiction of some universal societal problem whose particular brand of annoyance we all have simply grown accustomed to.  But Rockwell has taken the road less traveled with this title.  Rather than showing something that people at the all had to deal with, he showed something that people at the time refused to deal with: the prejudice and mistreatment of African Americans.  Everyone simply lived with it.

     Moving on to the painting itself.  The eye is immediately drawn to the little black girl, just off from the center of the frame, so I'll start there.

     The girl in question is one Ruby Bridges.  Ruby was one of the first black children to be placed in a white-only school, in an effort towards desegregation.  If you want to learn more about her story, you can find it here.  Ruby's pose says a lot about what she represented at the time; her back is straight, her feet are positioned in a marching stance.  One of her hands is balled in a fist, the other wrapped tightly around her textbooks.  Her stance is one of resoluteness and bravery.  She knew the risks she would face, and she knew she might even be putting her life in danger, but she faced this challenge anyway.

     On either side of Ruby stand four U.S. Deputy Marshalls.  They are depicted mid-step of a very brisk walk.  What is striking about these men is the choice of color on their clothing.  Two of the men are depicted wearing grey suits, and the other two in more off-white colored suits.  Methinks this was no arbitrary decision.  Since none of these men are specifically wearing black or white, but are instead wearing shades of grey, this is likely a manifestation of the law enforcement attitude towards the situation.  They were neither in favor of or against integration (publicly, at least), but neutral: shades of grey.  Contrast this with the very striking colors used on Ruby, and the symbolism becomes pretty apparent.

     Moving on to the background, which contain two of my personal favorite details.

     The first thing of note is the tomato splattered on the wall.  At first glance, it looks like blood.  I'll let that speak for itself.  But the thing that caught my attention was the pattern of the splatter.  The individual streams seem to burst out from the center of the point of impact, which is normal.  But, at the top of the stain, there is a gap with more tomato juice around it that brings to mind the image of a powerful bird triumphantly soaring into the sky.  Seems like more than coincidence.

     The next background detail is the word "Nigger" right above Ruby.  What is interesting about it is the way it's written:  it's grey, faded, and wispy.  The way the letters are written are evocative of a vengeful ghost's warning written on the wall of a haunted house.  This could be seen as representing the haunting shadow of racism always looming over the African-American people.

My Opinion

     I think this painting is amazing.  Truly astonishing.  The way it's staged and the simplicity of it manages to say so much with so little.  It really is a spectacular piece of artwork ( I may even buy a print of it)  i don't really know what else to say about this painting.  It's fantastic.

Until next time!