On Ross, Rockwell And Nostalgia



Three CR readers wrote in expressing various degrees of dismay at this article at PopMatters. At one point, Monte Williams' opinion piece draws a comparison between Alex Ross and Norman Rockwell, and suggests that such is the power of Ross' art that the Justice League of America fighting Starro takes on at least an element of the same reaction we afford to Rockwell's depiction of Ruby Bridges being escorted to school by US marshals. I agree with the e-mailers that that's an unfortunate conflation no matter how many caveats one makes, and I'm also in concurrence with what I think is their related, collective implication that processing art demands that we grapple with what is being depicted even as we allow ourself to be swayed by an abstract artistic effect.

Going a bit further, I don't think I would afford Ross' work as much authority and effectiveness as the writer does no matter how we each might believe it works on its audience. I'm not a great Rockwell fan, but I think that "The Problem We All Live With" is a far more satisfying work of art than any of Ross' covers with which I'm familiar. I would also point out that despite its age, Rockwell's painting was published a couple of months after Bridges walked the line. This means it's probably not the best Rockwell picture to be used in this comparison in the first place. But that may just be me. I agree with the writer's point that art made in a time beyond our memory can have a power that art made within our experiences cannot, and find interesting the notion that Ross' work functions at least a little bit in the same manner propaganda might. Unlike at least one of the e-mailers, I wish him no ill will.
 
posted 9:00 am PST | Permalink
 

---

 
Daily Blog Archives
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
 
Full Archives