NGC - Rosenquist

James Rosenquist 
Painting for the American Negro 1962-1963
National Gallery of Canada

I had another rare event at the gallery today.  I went to revisit a triptych that I had seen a couple of days ago, one where a school class was getting a lesson and I was listening in.  This time a docent was telling about the picture and I took a couple of pages of notes.  I don't know what compels me to do both that, and then to read the notes over while I eat lunch.  Probably if I had someone at the gallery with me for lunch, I would be chatting with them instead of reading  my notes over.

This is a 50 year old oil painting, rare because it was not usual for pop artists to make political statements in the 1960's.  James Rosenquist is among the top pop artists of the period and this painting was done at the height of the civil rights marches.

You will notice the rose coloured glasses connect to a stereotypical figure of an African American man who is also rose-coloured.  There is lots more in the picture -- a joy to stand at the painting with fellow Canadians and have someone at least point us in a direction where we can understand what was going on during this period.

Odd that the same curator had us look at a Canadian painting just an hour before, one where the imagery dealt with the martrydom of Brebeuf and Maclemeff -- a historical painting from 1843.

Martyrdom of Fathers Brébeuf and Lalemant

The docent who was discussing the painting said that he is taking an art course now on martyrdom paintings.

I couldn't help but think that was cool.  Apparently there are rules around painting martyrs:

1. show the martyrs to be in no pain
2. show the instruments of torture being use

In this case the boiling water is to be thrown on the victims as though a mock baptism is being done on them.  And further, their lips were cut off when they expressed their faith in God.

Sounds like quite a course.  For my part it was just fun to visit the picture in a museum.

Arta