Sunday, July 21, 2013

Sunday with Norman Rockwell and his art

Doesn't Sunday seem like the perfect day to visit Norman Rockwell?

When I think of Norman Rockwell I think of a kinder, gentler, time in America: Sunday dinners, Christmas mornings, family reunions.

I also think of the kitschy side of Norman Rockwell: the collector's plates, Christmas ornaments, etc.

So when we decided to go through Stockbridge, Massachusetts earlier this week, we decided it would be a good idea to visit the Norman Rockwell museum.

I am glad we did, as I realized that I did not know the real Norman Rockwell at all.

The size of the museum is perfect - the collection is good-sized, there are always two or three other interesting exhibits in-house, and is easily do-able in a couple of hours.  Some museums are so large that they overwhelm me and I have to take them in only small portions (The Met or The Louvre for example), others are much more manageable - like the Musée de l’Orangerie in Paris, and are like little jewel boxes to be savoured and enjoyed.


If you take the headphones for the audio tour, you are going to learn some interesting things about Norman Rockwell's work.  For example, there was always something cheeky or "off" in his paintings, despite their overall sense of being sweet or sentimental.

Click for larger view
Source

It is hard to see in the picture above, but in this fellow's arms, he has a copy of the museum guidebook which shows the original, more staid painting.  Our hero is very interested in other parts of the painting (perhaps the technical aspect of the brushwork?) and the subject is suddenly quite flirty with him!

Record Image
Source

Likewise, in the painting above, you see that the self-portrait that Rockwell is painting is a slightly idealized version of what he is actually looking at in the mirror.

What I did not know before I visited the museum was that Rockwell was a real social activist in his life, pushing America to its higher self through his illustrations.  In the 1960s when America was being torn apart by the civil rights movement, he waded in, depicting the victims of hatred as real, noble individuals, not different at all from the other "white" people that Rockwell had depicted on his covers of the Saturday Evening Post and Look magazines.

Click for larger view
Source
Rockwell’s “Southern Justice” painting of 1965, also known as “Murder in Mississippi,” depicting the killings of three civil rights workers murdered in June of 1964.
Source

The Museum takes a lot of time to show this work, since so much of America is more familiar with the more sentimental of Rockwell's works such as Christmas Homecoming.

Click for larger view

The subject in this painting is the artist's oldest son, Jarvis Rockwell, who just happened to have an exhibit at the museum and was actually there working on the day we visited.



This was a fascinating exhibit.  Jarvis has taken action figures and toys from the last 30 years and used them in large three dimensional collages that speak to the story of culture and our children's lives and what we deem important and imaginative.  The highlight is a massive Mayan temple-like structure that is covered in hundred of these figures.  I got a chance to chat with Mr. Rockwell while he worked and we talked a lot about his use of these objects and it was really fascinating.  Well worth a visit - he had a similar exhibit at the MOMA a few years ago which was quite popular.  There was also a small exhibit of his older works from the 60s, 70s and 80s and it was interesting to see his art evolve.  There was one of those ugly tourist moments while I was chatting with him, as a loud blonde woman rushed in and said "JARVIS!  HOW DOES IT FEEL TO HAVE GROWN UP WITH SUCH A FAMOUS FATHER?!!!"  I could see this talented artist wince - he is an old man now himself and has likely had this question asked of him every day of his life - and he just shrugged and said "it was complicated."  At which point she replied "MY LIFE TOO, JARVIS.  NOW I AM GOING TO SEE THE SNOW WHITE EXHIBIT."  And then she was gone.  And Jarvis and I went back to talking softly about his art.

Near the museum you can see Rockwell's studio, which was moved to the museum grounds after Rockwell's death:



The sculpture in the garden is by another of his sons, Peter Rockwell.



Inside the studio they have chosen to show what it looked like during an active period of Rockwell's life, in this case, 1960.

I highly recommend a visit to this museum if you are in the Berkshires.  I felt at the end of the visit that I better understood Rockwell the man and Rockwell the artist.  What more could you want from a museum than that?

I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!  I will be staking some plants today; we had a very violent storm here around 6:30 last evening - I have never experienced ANYTHING like it and apparently, there is evidence of a tornado about 30 KM away.  Not good, but thankfully no damage here.  Stay Safe out there!


12 comments:

  1. Wendy you had a fascinating visit to the Rockwell Museum! How fortunate that you were able to have a discussion with Jarvis Rockwell. I would love to see his exhibit. And thanks for sharing all of your impressions with us of Rockwell and his art... this place wasn't on my list but now it is.
    I'm sorry the storm came your way. We had it on Friday evening at about 5:30, several trees were down in the area and yesterday all of the clean-up crews were out in the neighbourhood. Apparently the winds were hurricane-strength out this way.
    A tornado... I hope there wasn't any damage. Good luck in the garden!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is definitely worth a visit - I think you would enjoy yourself. barry bought a small print of the little girl above - he loved the image so much. Jarvis was absolutely fascinating!!!

      Apparently some barns blew down and a dump truck was flipped over. I had never seen anything like it - it lasted maybe 10 minutes and there was a wall of water so heavy that I couldn't see across the street!

      Delete
  2. Thank you for sharing a bit of your adventure. A very nice reading this morning. Much love.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks BB - not so wild an adventure as your recent one, for sure! We did see a dead bobcat on the side of the road in Maine, though!

      Delete
  3. Thank you for sharing yur impressions. I am definitely going tho visit there in the next few weeks. I always thought there was a touch of satire in his work. I live in a spot that is prone to relatively violent thunder storms because we tend to have very humid, hot summers. I find them so unnerving. Thank goodness you are safe, and have power.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. we just walked around the little lake near our house and only saw one downed tree, so we are lucky indeed!!

      You will love it in the area! There is even an outlet mall about 5 miles away, but you likely have plenty of THOSE where you live!

      Delete
  4. Morning Wendy, this was a lovely post. I didn't know much at all about Norman Rockwell, this has whetted my interest.

    We had that storm on Friday too - it was horrible to drive through!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patricia - I cannot imagine being able to drive through it! wow!

      Delete
    2. Well, maybe the part I drove through wasn't as bad as where you are - I am a famously nervous driver!!

      Delete
  5. I can't say a word - Barry was ready to give me a gravol so I would shut up whilst he drove...

    ReplyDelete
  6. what a lovely exhibit - and jarvis sounds like such a kind man. :)

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm totally ignorant of Norman Rockwells's art, so thanks for this!
    Hope your plants are un damaged!

    ReplyDelete

Kindness is a virtue...