As a child, reading challenged me. Few
stories captured my heart and my mind as James Fenimore Cooper's The
Last of the Mohicans. I know now that the visual interpretations crafted by
N.C. Wyeth for the hardcover book brought me into the epic (Alas, my copy disappeared). Debate
continues as to whether Wyeth's work, and others such as Norman Rockwell's, is considered "art."
Being an active Tweeter, in a circuitous
way another Tweeter asked me to compare Andy Warhol to John Singer Sargent (Museum
of Fine Arts, Boston, has a large collection of Sargent's paintings). The
conversation led to a consensual conclusion that Andy Warhol changed the
boundaries of "What is art?" in the sixties and seventies. Not to
disparage Warhol's contributions, if his silk screens are now accepted as
modern art, why do current art historians question N.C. Wyeth's distinctive, classic
illustrations?
When the satirical magazine Charles Hebdo hit the
news, I remembered my brother's copies of MAD
Magazine and how much the visual artistry of the cartoonists stayed
with me far beyond the captions. Maybe as a visual learner, pictures impressed me more than words. The humorous and sardonic imagery made an impact.
N.C. Wyeth's illustrations had the same
effect. Look at the cover he did for The
Last of the Mohicans: Chingachgook, father of Uncas, is
featured. Heartbreaking as I remember (SPOILER ALERT) Uncas’ death, as
the fictional death of a bloodline, a
tribe, and the eventual demise of a people.
When illustrators’ work reaches into the
soul of many, I argue we must put subjective tastes aside. Many will agree that
art IS subjective but the cover above reaches beyond the individual. And if a drawing,
painting, photograph; an illustration or even street art awakens our numbed
senses, deadened by over-stimulation via technology, then the work should be
elevated to the status of art. Any hand-made, hand-captured image which makes a
community stop and think has more value than any masterpiece hanging in a
museum. Awakening the sleeping public is priceless.
It’s been often said that great writers
paint pictures with their words. Powerful speakers do the same. For in the end,
visual imagery which underscores historical, contemporary and personal events lingers
in our consciousness.
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