I was wrong about honest realism
October 6th, 2023
I laughed at and held in very low regard anybody who had any appreciation for Norman Rockwell and his art. Or “art” — as I would describe it then, with a wink of superiority. It was something simple for simple people, too honest, too realistic, too contrived, too in-your-face with regard to meaning, too cookie-cutter cute, too exceptionally American…
There was nothing sublime there and I was all about the sublime and exoteric and hermetic meanings then…
And I held the artist in a low regard, as an illustrator of truisms and nothing more. After having that opinion, I never paid any attention to Norman Rockwell and his art. That is until, by chance, I read about his stand for and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and decided to give him another chance and look at his art again.
And I quickly realized that I was wrong. I was very wrong and it was me who was too simplistic and full of a misplaced sense of superiority. There is nothing wrong with honest realism and being direct in providing extremely important messages to others by any means necessary. If that meant using a realistic illustration technique — so be it.
I think I was about twenty when I made up my mind about Norman Rockwell. And it took twenty-nine years for me to get the chance to review and amend my views. I am lucky that, by a random chance, I got this opportunity. An opportunity I didn't know I needed, since my mind was already so solidly settled on that issue. I wonder how many other “truths” and “knowledges” that I hold dear and fundamental in my mind, can be wrong as well. How many times have I lost a chance to review and rediscover something simply by relying on made-up ideas that never flourished beyond the initial reaction?
