Mid Century Girl
Last year, I orchestrated a one woman art show called, “Mid
Century Girl”. My work dealt with baby boomer themes and how they influenced
the world. It was a lot of fun to research. I organized the work like a quiz, I
asked the viewing audience to try and guess the objects or people I depicted. I
tried to interpret the iconic images of the mid-20th century using
the mediums of painting and printmaking techniques. I took a class of
elementary students to the show, and they kept asking me who made all of the
art. For some reason, they had a hard time accepting it was me! I wanted them
to understand the roots of my social justice agenda that informs my lessons. I
was inspired by the Beatles and there were some Abbey Road http://www.abbeyroad.com/ references as well as
John Lennon in New York. In this blog I will look at how boomers influenced my
classroom and the types of projects I work on with my students.
The origin of this social justice agenda probably came from
my childhood. My father was a World War ll veteran and my mother was a “stay at
home mom.” Dad was a typical veteran of his vintage; they rarely talked about
the war. I would get snippets of information but not very much. On the other
hand, the Great Depression and World War ll had a profound effect on my mother.
She told me a lot of stories about wartime Cape Breton. She never forgot the
fear, food rationing, air raid drills, and the anxiety of not knowing if she
would ever see my father again. I got the sense from their generation that war
should be a last resort; no one actually wins a war. I felt their generations
sowed the seeds of feminism and the anti-war “Hippie” movement. The Hippies and
their “counter culture” philosophy were the children and grandchildren of the
survivors of the war. http://deoxy.org/leary.htm
I remember distinctly the day my brother brought home a
Beatles album. I had never heard anything like it, it had a magical quality.
They became the sound track of my life. Last year, I saw a Paul McCartney
concert in Montreal. People of all ages were on their feet the entire concert,
singing every word with him. We stayed in the Queen Elizabeth hotel in the room
next to John and Yoko’s suite where they staged their, “Bed in for Peace” and Lennon
wrote Give Peace a Chance in that room. It was like a religious pilgrimage.
http://honeymoons.about.com/cs/canadiangetaways/a/johnyoko.htm
Other painting were about the Catholic of abstaining from
meat on Friday, John Kennedy junior saluting his father’s casket, John Lennon
portrait made from the word of the song Imagine, cat eye glasses, 45 speed
records and cars with wings. People had a great time at the opening trying to
guess a lot of the objects and eating the candy from their childhoods. I became
very nostalgic during the process of making this show. I had not realized that
the music, food and clothing had made such an impression on my imagination. That
is probably why I have been collecting vintage clothing from the mid-20th
century for many years. Women had real bodies; they didn’t starve themselves to
be underweight. Tom Wolfe called the ideal of the emaciated woman a “social
x-ray”. http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/death-of-the-social-xray/2005/07/06/1120329491888.html
As my “Mid-Century Girl” show was evolving I was amercing
myself in the past, the music, food, hair styles, clothing, and current events
of the time. As far as I could tell, it was the first time people drew on their
faces and their clothing. I responded by painting peace signs on clay face
masks and decorating a t-shirt and jean with “counter culture’ slogans and
icons. The 60’s was a time of conflict and peace. The war in Vietnam versus the
Give Peace a Chance crowd. The charisma of the Kennedy`s, Martin Luther King
and the promise of new and exciting times. The possibility of reaching the moon
both literally and figureatively.All under the shadow of the Holocaust,
reminding the world what can happen when we are indifferent to human suffering.
The opposite of love is not hate, it`s indifference.
Eli Wiesel
When I compare my teaching practice to some of the younger
teachers on my staff, I see a different agenda. For me, everything I engage in comes
from a social justice perspective. A lot of my issues are not even on their
radar. They do not remember Pierre Trudeau`s `Just Society`
I was a
teenage volunteer working on a campaign for Trudeau. He was magical and had a charisma
that even a young girl could see. Richard Gwyn called him the “Northern Magus”.
http://www.amazon.ca/Northern-Magus-Richard-J-Gwyn/dp/0771037325 I believe it was that sense of hope
for the future and pride in our country that ignited my political passion.
President Obama has that same type of energy, you can`t learn that in a
Christopher`s Leadership course. http://www.clcnational.com/
Currently, there are artists from
the mid-century practicing art and still relevant. One that influenced my work
is Yoko Ono. Outside of the conceptual art world her work may not be appreciated.
Her influence during the mid-20th Century was profound. She has
recently enjoyed a renewed popularity. Since Lennon’s murder she has dedicated
her art to creating a legacy for him. Most people have heard of Strawberry
Fields in New York City, her Central Park tribute. She constructed an amazing
light sculpture that was conceived during her years with John Lennon but
installed after his death. The city of Reykjavik, Iceland is the home for her
Imagine Peace Tower. It is lit on the anniversary of Lennon’s birthday October
9th and is extinguished on December 8th the anniversary
of his murder. http://imaginepeace.com/
Another piece of Ono’s that I have
adapted it my classroom is the Peace Tree. This concept was influenced by the
peace trees she saw in Japan and has gained popularity post atomic bomb. She
has installed them in many places and encourages people to leave messages on
the tree on the white tags she provides. To some people it may seem like
schmaltzy hippy stuff but for me they are words to live by. http://imaginepeace.com/archives/16428
I suppose it is a normal progression
of events that each generation has a clash in values. I don’t feel that same
sense of hope for the future that the post war world enjoyed. Everyone was
putting the past behind them, starting families and buying as many plastic mass-produced
products as they could. By the time I
became old enough to be a hippy, the movement was over. It was replaced by the
disco era, the “Me” generation , http://www.generationme.org/aboutbook.html generation x http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=generation%20x&source=web&cd=6&ved=0CFEQFjAF&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theglobeandmail.com%2Flife%2Fthe-hot-button%2Ffor-generation-x-its-all-work-and-no-kids-study-finds%2Farticle2174324%2F&ei=HXtzT5bhGsWu0AGTvoCBAw&usg=AFQjCNE8qfCLkGmQy6Y6vwC-g17wV6xoNg&cad=rja
& y http://legalcareers.about.com/od/practicetips/a/GenerationY.htm and it became cool to be corporate. Make money
at all costs and spend what you don’t have.
I believe trends are cyclical and we
may be at a point in civilization, post Iraq War when we can again work for
peace. I dream of that day, as idealistic as it sounds. In my opinion it is the
only way. The only thing wrong with peace it that is hasn’t been tried before,
Groovy!
Diane,
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather was also a war veteran and like your father he rarely talked about his experience. My grandmother rarely talked about her experience either; however, her post war anxiety was evident. She was always hiding away food and belongings and she didn’t throw away ANYTHING!
They lived a simple and happy life, making do with what they had and enjoying it, a novelty that many people in my generation don’t partake in. I live in a generation that is based mainly on money and materialistic goals that create idyllic perceptions in society.
I envy the world my grandparents some days. I believe that some of the social problems such as crime and substance abuse that we are currently facing are a result of the money based corporate beliefs in our society. People are struggling to “keep up”. It creates pressure and stress on individuals and families when they can't. Often, it can be easier for people to create an identity for themselves that resorts to crime and substance abuse when the goals that have been set for them are very difficult for them to achieve.
I find myself constantly referring to my father’s words of wisdom “be happy with what you have and that everyone is healthy, it could be a lot worse” because in today’s society it can be easy to lose to sight of that.
You are not alone in your idealistic thoughts Diane. Sometimes, I find myself saying “Can’t we all just get along” I know I am extremely neive in my thinking but I don’t understand why there has to be so much hate. When my first child was born, which was in 1989, I remember feeling overwhelmed with fear for him because there was so much hate in the world. It is sad for me to say this but, I don’t know that the world is a better place today.
ReplyDeleteArt, wheater this is in the form of music or paintings, can be a powerful form of engaging people in thought. When I hear that schools want to cut music and art programs I cringe. I read a blog recently titled The Case for Multi-sensory Learning for children: The Brain’s Input of Choice from Power of Art by Bette Fetter http://www.powerinart.org. The blog indicated that the further a child gets from kinder garden, the less interested they are in school and learning. In younger grades students are permitted to engage in sensory learning which keeps them interested. As they progress through higher grades they become less engaged because there is less sensory learning. “The fact is that students need to use their natural multi-Sensory process to remain interested in learning and to do it well.” (2012 Fetter)
I applaud you for keeping your students engaged and interested. Art was my saviour in high school. I’m sure you have a student or 2 that are very much like I was, and they will look back and remember that their art teacher was the most engaging and thought provoking.