Eight Artists Address Brown v. Board of Education :: Art Exhibit

Social Studies Eight Artists Address Brown v. Board of Education I ignore the first room, there is an African American, I assume a student, listening to his c.d. player and taking notes of the first few photographs. I am overwhelmed by this illuminating neon glow, and continue into the contiguous room. I find that I am alone, for the most part, but I am being watched. Literally by a security camera in the southeast corner, but mostly by the oversized photographs and paintings. I feel uncomfortable and I almost want to leave, but theres a paper that I need to write and I want to revisit some things. Something catches my eye on the northeast wall and I am reintroduced to 3 chromogenic prints from Carrie Mae Weemss For Roses, for Daisy, from Days Long Forgotten. The first and last ar a close aerial view of roses. I cant tell what pretense they are because the photos are in slow and white, but theyre still beautiful. The middle picture is somewhat larger there are two African American children. Theyre sharing a tight space, but seem to be comfortable with each other. I ask myself why Weems used black and white film, and the only thing I can think of is that the roses, no matter what their colors, are beautiful. And the children are human, which is a beauty in itself. I roll in the hay to the conclusion that there isnt a certain race that is more beautiful than another. I am white, and that is beautiful. I have friends from all sorts of ethnic backgrounds, and they are beautiful as well. I decide not to read any of the authors bios or explanations in the brochure I picked up until the end. I guess Im afraid of judging the works before I even take a chance to look into them myself. In cartridge holder a read that For Rosa, for Daisy, forgoes the imagery of struggle in favor of a pastoral iconography of flowers and children The photos offer an idyllic world of private beauty and repose that contrasts with the worldly concern record of str ife and oppression (OBrien, 5). In her series May Days Forgotten she photographs the girls inside of nature, sometimes in floral prints. I find that her ideas to assent the aspects of natural beauty, from the girls to the flowers and to nature, are breathtaking.