Show Originally Aired: 11/16/2001 CALL 1 800-423-TALK
American Art Through the Prism of War
Norman Rockwell, 1943. The Curtis Publishing Company, Agent. Email to friend
Freedom of speech, freedom to worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The words: pure Roosevelt, the paintings: classic Norman Rockwell. 60 years later, in a nation less confident and less certain of that entitlement. In a nation wounded and wondering how its new canvas will be stretched, there's a place for the mythical small town, warm soup comfort-art like that of Rockwell. But is there room for something more? What of Picasso's, Moore's and Goya's art of horror and ruin? Or Breughel's bucolic prints of another time, another place? Fine art is meant to challenge and stimulate, but when nerves are numb and even the photos too raw, art takes on the double burden of psychic bandage and cipher.
