Orange and Blue Feelings by Glen Ligon, 2003

As socially advanced as America appears to be, there is still much work to be done. The American Civil War in the 1860s served as a major turning point in history and was supposed to signify the end of inequality in America. One hundred years later, the Civil Rights movement was supposed to end the lack of action over that time. And yet today, forty-five years later, Americans remain unequal. Racial profiling is still an issue, racism in corporate America is still prevalent, and the graduation rate of minorities among high schools and colleges remains disproportionate. And although the United States still has a long way to go concerning race, we as a society are just beginning to confront differences in sexuality. From the reported “hate crimes” against homosexual males and females to states voting for/against (mostly against) banning homosexual marriage, we are living this conflict everyday.

Glen Ligon, a black contemporary artist born in 1960, confronts both subjects very boldly in all of his work. Most of his creations are biographical in nature, often commenting on very specific moments in life that have effected who he is today. He is also well known for using a lot of text within his pieces, a technique that he manipulates well. His piece, Orange and Blue Feelings is unique in that it contains no text or graphical images whatsoever. Coincidentally, I feel that this may be his most significant artwork in finding out who Ligon really is.

Orange and Blue Feelings consists of two miniaturized boats the size of a small domestic animal. One is painted royal blue on its body and orange from the deck up. Coming in the opposite direction is a boat of exactly the same dimensions but painted in all black within two feet. The boats are resting (physically) or moving (psychologically) along a white platform the size of an extra-large pizza box. Ligon commented that his grade school teacher claimed the orange and blue boat was, “ugly,” thus instructing him to repaint it. He obliged and thus painted it black. Although at the time he may have been disappointed at the creative boundaries his teacher was placing upon him, the artwork can now be interpreted on a variety of levels and subjects. I believe it comments on a few main subjects. First, Ligon is a black man living in a predominately white world. It is difficult to find identity when Americans are still undecided as to the political correctness of the use of the terms black, colored, or African-American. Next, I believe the piece is a critique of his experiences with institutionalization, particularly governmental and academic. So often are we told and taught right from wrong that colorful answers are frequently concealed and not encouraged. Lastly, Ligon comments on the place of black/colored/ people in a white world as well as being (sexually) different in a heterosexual society.

The treatment of African descendents throughout world history is well documented, dating back as far as Egyptian civilizations. In American culture, which has far less history, Native Americans were called “colored” because of their darker skin and different lifestyles. The earliest Americans brought over slaves from Africa and called them “black” to further dehumanize them. It is important to note that the British loyalists often referred to these people as “niggers” (deriving from the Latin term niger meaning “black”) as a derogatory name. Americans picked up on this dialect and used it as a common insult for nearly 200 years. Thus, the term “colored” became increasingly politically correct, to the extent that the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) is active in equality issues, pertaining mostly to African descendents. This term faced its own set of criticism, implying that colored people have something wrong with them. Recently, the term “African-Americans” has become more accepted yet is incomplete. Many non-Mexican minorities are indeed being born in the United States, some for many generations. Is a sixth-generation American with black skin an African-American? Ligon knows his own history well and accurately portrays this historical struggle within American society.

In math class, we are taught different ways to get to one correct answer. All other answers are incomplete or incorrect all together. Similarly, our government sends us messages that are clear, concise, and leave no room for interpretation. Coincidentally, this piece by its nature is completely open to broad interpretation. There is no right answer, only your answer and opinion. The colored boat was his answer, the black being the institutionalized version. Ligon, being a homosexual minority, has embraced being in the colorful consciousness of a colorblind American society, as evidenced by his contemporary style and other autobiographical works.

Anyone who is different, be it skin color, national origin, or sexuality is labeled as such as though to create a true separation from the rest of the majority. The boats are indeed of different colors but are still attempting to navigate in a white ocean of heterosexual, Catholic Caucasians. Although oceans seem to be never-ending, they are indeed finite. As an outsider, you still have control of yourself to accomplish great things while overcoming seemingly unfavorable obstacles. All of Ligon’s works demonstrate that he is still struggling with these issues or have overcome them previously. Ligon would not be the artist he is today had it not been for these societal obstacles that he was forced into conquer.

Glen Ligon portrays much of himself in this artwork. I do look at the piece in context and realize that he made it while still in grade school. Thus, knowing he is a contemporary artist, the actual art is intellectual. With so many different possible meanings to take away from this artwork, you the educated scholar must make your own meanings and draw your own conclusions. By doing so, you take partial ownership of the art due to the fact that your interpretation of it helped create your own conclusions and create meaning. With such an elementary piece, Orange and Blue Feelings is aesthetically basic and can easily be passed over simply as two boats of different colors. But after careful examination of the use of colors, objects, and history, this piece is intellectually mind blowing.







Krissy Avalli Art Edu. 357.02 Second Art Critique Rebecca Zimmerman: Surviving Winter The first snowfall of winter is a serene and calming scene. Powder snow blankets the ground and all is pure white. Skiing, ice skating, snowmen and icicles fill the chilly days. Rebecca Zimmerman, a landscape photographer who resides in Denver, captures a snow day in her landscape photo Surviving Winter, in a different light. It highlights the bleak emotions that one can feel while trying to survive the encompassing snow. Her photo highlights survival of three trees, which can easily be associated with when looking at her photo. Surviving winter was photographed in Denver, Colorado far from Zimmerman’s home town of Worthington, Ohio. It is a 16 by 24 photograph composed of glycee prints on water color paper. When first viewing the photo the most astonishing thing is the stark white. The majority of the photo is pure white snow. The pure white contrasts with three small pine trees. Only the pine trees tops are visible and appear to be on a hill. The pine trees branches have snow on them. The trees then completely disappear into the white snow which overtakes the rest of the photo. I associate my feelings with the pine trees that’s heads appears to be just above the snow, barely surviving its cover around them. When focusing on this photo many emotions came to mind that I feel in late winter. During late winter when the days seem to permanently gray and the snow has changed from pure white to slushy grey, the feelings of seasonal depression can hit. One could feel a loss of energy, weight gain or fatigue. The gray days never seem to end and you just want to see a sunny spring day, just like the pine trees do in this photo. Their heads are just above the snow, almost signifying a lasting hope that spring will come and they will survive. When I viewed the photo, I not only associated the emotions of winter with the trees, but in life in general. Maybe, we’re all just trees on a hill, keeping hope that we will survive life. When it snows, we just have to keep hope and keep our heads up, like the pine trees. Snow could be life’s challenges, death, war, divorce, losing a job, or a natural catastrophe. These “lifestyle” snow that condensate down can be in flurries, like the slow breakup of a marriage; or in a sudden blizzard like an unexpected death. Both can cover a person and inhibit them mentally and physically, but both can be survived. The uplifting note is that the pine trees heads are above the snow and surviving; and in life if you keep your head up, you can survive. When the snow melts and the sun shines, then you can really appreciate life; the trees can soak up the sun. The sunshine would not feel so great if you did not experience snow in the winter. Rebecca Zimmerman took a different look at the beauty and power of snow and its ability to stir up emotions and also life survival. Her photo, Surviving Winter, has many different themes that can be taken from it. The three trees can symbolize so much about life and survival making it a great photo to examine. The feelings of seasonal winter depression and the survival in life are only the beginning of what viewers could retrieve from the three trees in a stark white.