Comments on: Folk Stories

By: Sunil Gangadharan

Sunil Gangadharan — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:00:50 +0000

Bob, Thank you for clarifying. The moment I read your two lines that explained your thought behind the painting, it became even more beautiful.

I have copied the lines that Bob wrote that had this effect on me:
“This story for me is about the depiction of black people in the western world. The relationship of the young men to his son, that they are together, in a room with books and art, with no visible sign of a tattoo or a basketball, is not a fable”

By: Bob Martin

Bob Martin — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 05:28:37 +0000

Sunil, basketball and tattoos are not necessarily negative but more of a profile cliche for young black men in the States. But what I see often are young men with their children in rather normal, almost dull environments, so I wanted to try a paint that. Thanks for the question, I really appreciate your interest.

By: Sunil Gangadharan

Sunil Gangadharan — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 17:43:14 +0000

Bob,
Your comment explaining the picture stayed with me all of last evening and I just had to ask…

Do you think that a tattoo or a basketball would have been emblematic in a negative way if you had included it here?

By: birgit

birgit — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:18:02 +0000

I like the man in his spiritual blue-violet and the boy in his teal clothing. I also like the red in the background so that the picture does not look sad.

I do see the bonding between the man and the child. I also feel the responsibility of the man for the child that may remind June of pioneer families.

By: Karl Zipser

Karl Zipser — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 20:24:22 +0000

Bob,

I read the hands the way you intended them. I didn’t realize this was a work in progress, the paint still wet. I don’t want to interfere, but the idea of you adjusting this picture makes me anxious. I think it is very strong as it is. I read different interpretations of it in comments above, but a powerful image will always evoke different interpretations. Is the red the key, or out of balance? There are different opinions.
But what you have now works very well.

June sees a lack of connection in the people. I see realism. The father looks at us, a bit weary but content, the child is distracted. The son’s glance to the side breaks with the formality of the composition, which to me fits perfectly.

By: Bob

Bob — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:04:50 +0000

Thanks all. This story for me is about the depiction of black people in the western world. The relationship of the young men to his son, that they are together, in a room with books and art, with no visible sign of a tattoo or a basketball, is not a fable.

Brigit, I’ve read these finding before and I think many men answer the question based on what they think is expected of them. The answer may changes when men are asked what do they want to be most important in their life.

Karl, here again is a question for me about how deep are we willing to go in creating art, asking questions, being honest. We have all gotten really good at anticipating what others (galleries, collector and critics) want from us.
Sunil, the hand (may need to paint this better) is actually holding the leg of the child.

D. I struggle with how much detail I want to force in the painting. At the moment I’m letting the painting sit for a while, let the paint dry and see what else I want to address and if it makes a difference in my msg. The painting has not had a chance to dry evenly, but once everything is dry I will be able to balance out the intensity of colors if needed.

By: June

June — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 18:57:44 +0000

What I’ve been doing as I looked at the image, read your post, and then read the comments is thinking about how the formal elements make comments about the story. I’m thinking that those little almost-Vuillard touches tells us about the angst that you see in the man’s eyes, even about the tentative way he holds the child. And that set me wondering about the lack of eye contact or intimacy between the two humans. There’s something that pulls each formal element away from each other formal element, as if the man and child were themselves terribly isolated even in this moment of commonality.

There’s no melting into each other, no melting into the background, not much contacting of the viewer (I can’t really tell where the child is looking). This reminds me of some of the sculptures of pioneer families that are so ubiquitous, particularly in the Plains states. There’s a kind of isolating that occurs in those sculptures, even while formally they are grouped as “family.”