We started our day at the G.F. Watts Gallery. It was in Compton, but for some reason I did not see Dr. Dre, Ice Cube or any of N.W.A., not even D.J Yella. Oh well, I thought, I guess I can still try to make the best of it.
Jane and Hazel educated us to the fact the Watts was the premier artist of the Victorian era. It was inspiring to see an painter of this time rallying for social causes. Through his artistic expression, we learned about his disdain for Church and other Hierarchies in society that were the causes of destitution and death amongst the people. A true visionary he rallied against the killing of animals for sport. Closest to my heart, he feared death not in the least and almost looked at it as a comfort.
Progress can be difficult, especially when the people are misled. Progress can especially be impossible when we spend too much time in the past. My favorite work was “Progress,” which showed a man on a horse bravely marching forward into a new world. In this photo only one of four men look upon progress and the future with hope and aspiration. The others; an old scholar, the money lover, and the lazy, hate the idea of moving forward. When we immortalize those that keep us down, how are we to ever have progress. When the Rich who were responsible for the worst atrocities in society are revered, the people are surely confused.
G.F. Watts represented so much of the goodness we should be basing our society on and he most definitely has a new and dedicated fan. We also got to see the work of one of his contemporaries, Frank Holl, who similarly painted what the art world calls “Social Realism.” Holl’s life was cut dramatically short, but I believe his skill may have ended up surpassing that of Watts, but of course that we can never know.
More than ever I am convinced that, as Americans, we must begin to redefine ourselves separately and forge into the future with an eye on the present, not necessary the past. We are where we are because of the past, no doubt about it, good or bad, but life is happening now. Children are dying and starving now, human rights are being violated now, it seems incredibly misguided to continue to make the rich richer with these things going on around the world.
I did not realize it would happen here at Watts gallery in Compton, but I definitely found a little bit of N.W.A.
--Curtis Harris
Jane and Hazel educated us to the fact the Watts was the premier artist of the Victorian era. It was inspiring to see an painter of this time rallying for social causes. Through his artistic expression, we learned about his disdain for Church and other Hierarchies in society that were the causes of destitution and death amongst the people. A true visionary he rallied against the killing of animals for sport. Closest to my heart, he feared death not in the least and almost looked at it as a comfort.
Progress can be difficult, especially when the people are misled. Progress can especially be impossible when we spend too much time in the past. My favorite work was “Progress,” which showed a man on a horse bravely marching forward into a new world. In this photo only one of four men look upon progress and the future with hope and aspiration. The others; an old scholar, the money lover, and the lazy, hate the idea of moving forward. When we immortalize those that keep us down, how are we to ever have progress. When the Rich who were responsible for the worst atrocities in society are revered, the people are surely confused.
G.F. Watts represented so much of the goodness we should be basing our society on and he most definitely has a new and dedicated fan. We also got to see the work of one of his contemporaries, Frank Holl, who similarly painted what the art world calls “Social Realism.” Holl’s life was cut dramatically short, but I believe his skill may have ended up surpassing that of Watts, but of course that we can never know.
More than ever I am convinced that, as Americans, we must begin to redefine ourselves separately and forge into the future with an eye on the present, not necessary the past. We are where we are because of the past, no doubt about it, good or bad, but life is happening now. Children are dying and starving now, human rights are being violated now, it seems incredibly misguided to continue to make the rich richer with these things going on around the world.
I did not realize it would happen here at Watts gallery in Compton, but I definitely found a little bit of N.W.A.
--Curtis Harris