{"id":30703,"date":"2015-12-08T08:48:48","date_gmt":"2015-12-08T14:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/?p=30703"},"modified":"2018-09-25T16:04:21","modified_gmt":"2018-09-25T22:04:21","slug":"freedom-from-fear-norman-rockwell-at-byus-museum-of-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/freedom-from-fear-norman-rockwell-at-byus-museum-of-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Freedom From Fear: Norman Rockwell at BYU’s Museum of Art"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Problem<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to the famed \u201cFour Freedoms\u201d speech given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January, 1941, American painter Norman Rockwell created an iconic series of paintings by the same name (finished in 1943). The first painting, entitled Freedom of Speech,<\/em> features a man engaged in offering a dissenting opinion to the prevailing views of those around him. Three other paintings completed the series: Freedom of Religion<\/em>, Freedom from Want<\/em>, and Freedom from Fear, <\/em>each beloved by the public but collectively seen in a less favorable light by the artist himself. From a public standpoint, the entire series went on to be the four best-known paintings of all Rockwell\u2019s works. Print reproductions of the paintings sold consistently throughout the war and well beyond. By the end of the 20th century, an estimated 25 million people had purchased Four Freedoms prints. Of course, Rockwell\u2019s commercial success didn\u2019t always translate to critical acclaim. In truth, most art critics dismissed Norman Rockwell as a lightweight. Meanwhile, the public demanded more Rockwell art.<\/p>\n

The newly installed exhibit, American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell<\/em> at the BYU Museum of Art, (through February 13, 2016), showcases copies of all 323 covers the artist created for The Saturday Evening Post<\/em> from 1916 to 1963, as well as 50 Rockwell originals. These present a wider Rockwellian landscape than many fans of The Saturday Evening Post<\/em> covers might expect.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>While most visitors to American Chronicles<\/em> rightly will expect to see many familiar paintings (Freedom from Want<\/em> and the Post<\/em> covers among them), others may feel surprised by a sampling of lesser-known works. One such example is the surprisingly tender portrayal of a clown named Pokey Joe in a smaller painting entitled \u201cCheckers\u201d (1929, oil on canvas). The clown, who fears he is no longer funny, holds court in front of several other circus companions who attempt to cheer him through a rigged outcome in a game of checkers. The scene is richly colored, yet subdued in mood and lighting. Pokey Joe looks at turns both regal and downcast in his central placement on the canvas. Although the painting served to illustrate a story in the Ladies Home Journal<\/em> (as did several other pieces in this particular exhibit), it also shows a deeper nostalgia emerging from the artist\u2019s happy childhood experiences at the circus.<\/p>\n

As museum visitors watch a 10-minute preview video before entering the exhibit, they go on an armchair tour of Rockwell\u2019s life and artistic sensibilities. When Norman Rockwell was a young boy, he spent most of his time in his native New York City. But in the summers, the Rockwell family often traveled to a farm in the country, where young Norman loved to observe and sketch those around him, carefully posing family members and animals before painting each scene. Later in life, Rockwell would capture each scene\u2019s particulars on film before committing the scene to canvas. He also enjoyed showing his subjects how to strike the right poses, portray the appropriate emotions, and even make comical faces. At a young age, Rockwell had a knack for what art historians called \u201cnostalgic observation.\u201d But even he couldn\u2019t yet observe what life had in store: that at the tender age of 17 he would become the youngest artist to illustrate for Boy\u2019s Life<\/em> magazine\u2014or that he would create his first cover for The Saturday Evening Post<\/em> just five years later.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>As the title of this exhibit suggests, the order of the paintings proceeds from early works (sepia-toned paintings of Daniel Boone and Ichabod Crane among them), to more controversial works of the Civil Rights era. As the chronology progresses, museum patrons will find themselves in front of a portrait of Abraham Lincoln at his tall, lanky best, only to walk a few steps and find a collection of portraits and posters from the 1966 remake of the film Stagecoach <\/em>(starring Ann-Margret, Red Buttons, Bing Crosby, Mike Connors, Slim Pickens, and other famous actors in their prime).<\/p>\n

At its face, this carefully arranged juxtaposition merely highlights the variety to be had among Rockwell\u2019s many commissions. \u00a0On a deeper level, however, this same juxtaposition contrasts the lighter, commercial fare with more profound works, such as the aforementioned Lincoln portrait and a stately but relaxed portrait of President Kennedy, sketched hastily by Rockwell during a one-hour sitting in the White House. The latter portrait would, all too soon, grace the cover of The Saturday Evening Post<\/em>, after the president\u2019s assassination.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

All in all\u2014from one painting to the next\u2014Rockwell\u2019s storytelling genius reigns supreme. Rockwell\u2019s keen understanding of the human condition revealed itself early on, culminating later in life with his starker, less typical paintings of the Civil Rights movement. Unsurprisingly, it\u2019s the latter paintings that reveal the true fearlessness of an artist critics once dubbed as \u201ctwo dimensional\u201d or an \u201cunending clich\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

Controversy accompanied Rockwell\u2019s decisions to publish paintings of Civil Rights movement figures (shown near the end of the American Chronicles<\/em> exhibit). By this point, the Post<\/em> had severed ties with Rockwell on account of his increasingly controversial choice of subjects.<\/p>\n

Arguably the best known of the Civil Rights era paintings is \u201cThe Problem We All Live With\u201d (1964, oil on canvas), another iconic portrait. This time, the subject was 6-year-old Ruby Bridges on her way to a desegregated school, with two U.S. Deputy Marshalls leading the way and two walking behind Bridges. The remains of a smashed tomato appear on the wall behind the subject, as do two racial slurs. While the Post <\/em>shunned publication of this painting, luckily the publishers of Look<\/em> magazine felt bold enough to print a centerfold version of the painting in their January 14, 1964, issue.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the Rockwell exhibit, the curators have placed the most disturbing\u2014and therefore the most powerful\u2014of Norman Rockwell\u2019s later paintings: \u201cMurder in Mississippi\u201d(1965, oil on canvas). Some sources title this painting \u201cSouthern Justice,\u201d after the article title that accompanied the painting\u2019s reproduction in Look<\/em> magazine\u2019s June 29, 1965 issue. The American Chronicles<\/em> exhibit purposely places this painting, along with its accompanying tear sheets and black-and-white photos, near the end of the exhibit. Visitors move quietly among the artifacts and the painting itself, confining themselves to whispers or complete silence. One nearby tear sheet features an expressionist painting (origins unknown) that Rockwell used as inspiration for the dark colors and stark feeling of the larger artwork. The painting itself portrays three young civil rights workers who were actively campaigning for the right of black citizens to vote in Mississippi during the summer of 1964. All three workers went missing, only to be found many weeks later, buried under a dam. The Ku Klux Klan later was found responsible for the murders.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Some art lovers may assume that Norman Rockwell painted only nostalgic, idealized themes in his paintings. While much of Rockwell\u2019s output does indeed fit these themes, several key works move well beyond the ideal, as illustrated above. In the end, those who visit American Chronicles<\/em> can content themselves that not all Rockwell\u2019s stories are happy ones. Yes, Rockwell believed in the Four Freedoms, but his own life proves that freedom from fear may be best expressed by tackling life\u2019s challenges head on, even in the face of controversy and rejection.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To better plan your visit to American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell<\/em>, on display through Feb. 13, 2016, at BYU Museum of Art, sign up for free tickets<\/a> in advance. Due to high demand and limited parking, you should allow extra travel time. Contact the museum via email at moa@byu.edu<\/a> or by phone at 801.422.8287 for more information.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In response to the famed \u201cFour Freedoms\u201d speech given by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January, 1941, American painter Norman Rockwell created an iconic series of paintings by the same name (finished in 1943). The first painting, entitled Freedom of Speech, features a man engaged in offering a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1525,"featured_media":30704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,14],"tags":[2130,2810],"class_list":["post-30703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibition_reviews","category-visual_arts","tag-brigham-young-university-museum-of-art","tag-norman-rockwell"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/12\/Problem-We-All-Live-With_6_101.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-26 06:24:09","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1525"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30703"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38392,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30703\/revisions\/38392"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}