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{"id":4589,"date":"2016-05-23T20:28:18","date_gmt":"2016-05-24T02:28:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/?p=4589"},"modified":"2016-05-23T20:28:18","modified_gmt":"2016-05-24T02:28:18","slug":"art-and-memory-in-elgin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/janetheactuary\/2016\/05\/art-and-memory-in-elgin.html","title":{"rendered":"Art and Memory in Elgin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

What happens when the meaning of an artwork is forgotten, then half-rediscovered?<\/p>\n

In Elgin, in 2003, artist David Powers, in collaboration with students from Judson University, created a set of murals on certain themes of justice, including one on racial justice, based off a photograph of bystanders at a lynching<\/a>. \u00a0(I haven\u2019t reproduced the photograph here because I\u2019m not sure of the copyright status.) \u00a0It was meant to cause the viewer to reflect on that ugly part of the past, and not to do so by reflecting from the point of view of the victims, but the perpetrators, and to understand that people like you and me (that is, presuming a white audience) could have been in that crowd.<\/p>\n

But there was no accompanying description. \u00a0Perhaps\u00a0this was intentional,\u00a0not to be heavy-handed, or perhaps there originally was an explanation, and it\u2019s since been removed, or perhaps this was an oversight, or perhaps even at the time those who commissioned the artwork didn\u2019t \u201cget\u201d the intention of the artist and shrugged it off as just another painting that, if it seemed not to make sense, was no different than any other. \u00a0 But in any event, Elginites didn\u2019t know this, and thought it was meant to be just another pretty picture (though an oddly-composed one, since the artist excluded the image of the lynching victims themselves, in the desire to focus on the bystanders). \u00a0Only after more than a decade, just recently, did someone realize what the image was about, and misunderstood the artist\u2019s intention as that of secretly glorifying the lynching while \u201ctricking\u201d residents, and demand its removal, which, after various protests, has now occured.<\/p>\n

The Daily Herald tells the story here<\/a>, and the local ABC station here<\/a>\u00a0(with an image), and there\u2019s follow-up here<\/a> at WGN. \u00a0(More reporting, behind a paywall, at the Chicago Tribune, here<\/a>.) \u00a0Honestly, I\u2019d like to quote\u00a0the Herald story, but I\u2019ve exceeded my views for the month. \u00a0The link should work for readers, though.<\/p>\n

Now, Chicago is proud of its public art: \u00a0the Picasso at the Daley Center and the Bean at Millenium Park, in particular. \u00a0Neither communicates a message, despite the fact that, when asked to explain the strangeness of modern art, Experts tell us that it\u2019s meant to challenge us, to make us uncomfortable, to send difficult messages. \u00a0I\u2019ve never been much of a fan of this approach, in general \u2014 I prefer art that is pleasant to look at, thank-you-very-much, but if others prefer otherwise (and I don\u2019t have to pay for it), then fine.<\/p>\n

Except that, in this case, the passage of time, and the lack of explanation, meant that the message was lost. \u00a0Can art, in general, stand the test of time if it needs an explanation to be appreciated?<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"