Tuesday, July 12, 2011

When art captures change

I ran across this story in a comment thread at Jack and Jill Politics.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge has just announced that President Obama has asked it if the White House can borrow one of its most treasured paintings, Rockwell's "The Problem We All Live With," to mark the 50th Anniversary of Ruby Bridges's momentous walk to school, which marked the beginning of the racial integration of the William Frantz Public School in New Orleans on November 14, 1960.

Rockwell's painting was made for the cover of the January 14, 1964, issue of "Look" magazine. It's one of his most powerful, courageous, and ardent pictures.

The museum has agreed, of course, to the request. The painting will be on display at the White House until October 31.

It reminded me of this powerful juxtaposition that some of us noticed back in 2009.

Photobucket
The Problem We All Live With by Norman Rockwell

Photobucket
Sasha Obama's first day of school in Washington, D.C.

2 comments:

  1. oh my

    when that pic of Sasha first emerged, many of us over at JJP thought exactly of that Rockwell painting and how, in two pictures, how far we have come.

    in Rockwell's painting, Marshalls had to protect a little girl so that she could go to school.

    and, there she was, another little Black girl with guards, but this time, they were Secret Service, and the little Black girl was the daughter of the President of the United States.

    I call moments like these, goosebumps moments.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Totally rikyrah...goosebump moments!

    Sometimes you have to pause and recognize the progress. Its good for the soul.

    ReplyDelete

The danger of demonizing education

In the aftermath of this election, we're hearing a lot of pundits and politicians suggest that the reason Harris lost is because Democra...