Remind Us of Hope Norman Rockwell had become very popular within the late 1950’s and early 1960’s. Becoming famous for his witty sense of humor he so boldly displayed in his painting, but when he unveiled the painting entitled “The Problems We All Live With,” many fans and critics were to say at the least “shocked.” Rockwell took a new serious approach with this painted by capturing a second of fiction in one of the many historical events this nation has seen. The painting is of a little African American girl in a white dress being escorted by four U.S. Marshalls with a wall of racist terms and a tomato splatter behind her. The little girl presence in this painting is that of Ruby Bridges attending her first day at William J. Frantz elementary
…show more content…
Rockwell knew this, and as a white painter climbing to fame, he decided to take a daring risk by painting an African American as the primary subject. Since there was little interest within the white community to buy an art piece of an African American, Rockwell decided to push the boundaries even further by entitling this piece, “The Problems We All Live With.” Rockwell is testing the white population dominances of what and who is considered an American and what it means to be one. Going back to the main focal point, the young girl, Rockwell sees this child as an America way of life. He sees her as the symbol of change and the symbol of American values, such as individualism, work and leisure and achievement oriented. In the little girl’s hand, she is carrying a faded light blue book with white star patterns on it and just below the book she has two color crayons, one a dark blue and the other dark red. Rockwell has cleverly incorporated the American flag with in this painting, where the audience admiring this painting may overlook it, yet they are noticing it. As a result, it plays with their psychological emotion, testing the audiences pride and making them feel sympathy towards this painting. The position of the American flag against the white dress signifies a new begging for the African American community as well as the rest of the …show more content…
The tomato stained splatter on the wall then leads you to the profound racist social slurs written on the decaying wall. Rockwell uses a neutral tan oil base paint with an under coat of gray. He then uses the same gray to write the racist terms “K.K.K” and “Nigger” in, hoping that these expressions will deteriorate just like the wall of society’s hate. However, in today society’s these terms are not as visible as they once were, but they still do exist within the subcultures of America. Turning the attention back to the tomato, this object is the only thing visible from the crowed, the only object that we as the audiences have to decide what emotions the crowed is giving. If willing to look past the fact that it is a fruit, the idea that it is so close to the racist term “Nigger” can be read as a symbolic symbol of blood. The blood of innocents that was shed in order for this historical event to take
Rockwell knew this, and as a white painter climbing to fame, he decided to take a daring risk by painting an African American as the primary subject. Since there was little interest within the white community to buy an art piece of an African American, Rockwell decided to push the boundaries even further by entitling this piece, “The Problems We All Live With.” Rockwell is testing the white population dominances of what and who is considered an American and what it means to be one. Going back to the main focal point, the young girl, Rockwell sees this child as an America way of life. He sees her as the symbol of change and the symbol of American values, such as individualism, work and leisure and achievement oriented. In the little girl’s hand, she is carrying a faded light blue book with white star patterns on it and just below the book she has two color crayons, one a dark blue and the other dark red. Rockwell has cleverly incorporated the American flag with in this painting, where the audience admiring this painting may overlook it, yet they are noticing it. As a result, it plays with their psychological emotion, testing the audiences pride and making them feel sympathy towards this painting. The position of the American flag against the white dress signifies a new begging for the African American community as well as the rest of the …show more content…
The tomato stained splatter on the wall then leads you to the profound racist social slurs written on the decaying wall. Rockwell uses a neutral tan oil base paint with an under coat of gray. He then uses the same gray to write the racist terms “K.K.K” and “Nigger” in, hoping that these expressions will deteriorate just like the wall of society’s hate. However, in today society’s these terms are not as visible as they once were, but they still do exist within the subcultures of America. Turning the attention back to the tomato, this object is the only thing visible from the crowed, the only object that we as the audiences have to decide what emotions the crowed is giving. If willing to look past the fact that it is a fruit, the idea that it is so close to the racist term “Nigger” can be read as a symbolic symbol of blood. The blood of innocents that was shed in order for this historical event to take