A while ago I painted The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly. It is a painting that reflects an idea on how the Bush administration has dehumanized the world to such an extent that I fear the possibility of becoming a wandering specter. I decided that it might be fun for our Kossack community to hear about some my thoughts as an artist on history, politics, and the creative process that goes into planning a painting.
When I read the diary " SCHIP: The GOP Campaign Against Children " by DemFromCT, I found it well-written, sad, and frustrating that there are those in power who prioritize their war, corporate friends' wallets and power, and selfishness over the needs and welfare of children. Disgusting. And quite relevant to an important satirical cartoon by Honoré Daumier, a French artist and the first important political cartoonist.
When Honore Daumier was 24 he was first censored for his caricature of the French king Louis-Philippe. This took place within the first years of the July Monarchy, and the king felt paranoid and insecure in his seat of power. In the caricature, entitled "Gargantua", the king is represented as a giant gourmand, a character taken from Francois Rabelais' series of stories, which were themselves censored by the Sorbonne. The fat king sits in front of the National Assembly on a large commode. A huge plank comes out of his mouth on which rewards travel down to the eager officials beneath. Standing around his small, cripples legs are tattered workers and starving mothers who drop coins into the baskets on ministers.
Honore Daumier's caricature "Gargantua" censored by French government
While the poor were in need, starving, and suffering, the rich patted each other on the backs, and got fatter. Art, it would seem, was viewed as a serious threat. Daumier was imprisoned for 6 months for his political cartoon of King Philippe's greed and negligence to his people's needs.
The artist, Francisco de Goya, is also relevant to my story.
In 1786 Goya was appointed painter to Charles III, and in 1789 was made court painter to Charles IV. In 1799 he was appointed First Court Painter with a salary of 50,000 reales and 500 ducats for a coach. He worked on the cupola of the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida; he painted the King and the Queen, royal family pictures, portraits of the Prince of the Peace and many other nobles. His portraits are notable for their disinclination to flatter, and in the case of The Family of Charles IV, the lack of visual diplomacy is remarkable.
Goya: Painter of Royalty
Goya had wealth, power, and fame as a court painter but eventually fell out of favor and began a series of paintings known as his "Black Paintings". These paintings are chromatically dark, gloomy, and haunting in themes. One painting that alway inspired me was "Saturn Devouring His Children."
It is a painting that tells the mythological story of the God Saturn. On hearing a prophecy that one day his children will overthrow him from power, he performs an act of cannibalism by bringing each of his children to his jaws and eating them.
On to my painting. I wanted to paint how I was feeling. I felt sad, alone, angry, and hurt. There are many reasons I felt so alone and it occurred to me that one of these reasons was the Bush administration and their destructive policies.
From Goya's painting, Saturn was in many ways like Bush. The idea of a God, President, or Father, is that they have the power to protect their children and do good for them. They also have the power to do very bad things to their children (like Bush and health care right now). Like in Daumier's Gargantua, a leader can take from his people, or give to them. I thought of Philippe and Saturn as figures of who lacked compassion for their people they are responsible for and were also gluttonous, arrogant, corrupt and caused suffering in the masses. When times are tough, we feel dead inside at times. Like a ghost, we have presence but on the inside we can feel absent. A theme began to emerge, tying together soul-sucking, children-killing, and destruction. What rhymes-ish with Batman?!
So I have a murdering gluttonous monster played by Bush, terrorizing the masses, and the innocents he consumed and spat back out as floating specters (Pacman Ghosts)...the next step was to create an environment for the story to unfold. I thought of how Bush likes to think of himself as a cowboy. The Old West was vast, and empty. It made me think of the moon (like the Father Saturn was a celestial being, Bush was the moon in my story." The Moon also represented a landscape that is lonely, lacking life, and barren. Just like the destruction Bush has brought to everything he touches (as seen in the oil fields burning along the horizon of my painting).
To mock Bush, I painted myself as the Cowboy and Bush as the villain. In Western Films, the characters exist in rough and trying situations. One has to decide for themselves, are they going to be a man, or a quitter? Well, what's it going to be? What is right, what is wrong? The painting is about looking for life, love, and happiness in a world that is crushed by our caretakers. The penguin in the background represents lost family and love (because penguins are giving creatures). The vultures in the sky represent the allies that gloom and doom have at their disposal, ready to attack us at signs of giving up. My character has not given up, and is still searching, despite the misery around him. We must have hope.
The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly
An artist has to be cautious when making a work of art that is overtly political. They do not want to make art that dates easily, or is read too much as a one-liner. I care about art and politics, so I tried to construct my painting based on different ideas to add the depth and complexity that I hope can make my painting timeless. That when there is war, it affects our conciousness, great or small. And we must remember to be alive, and call out wrong when we see it. Creativity and ingenuity is part of our defense and offense as artists and human beings.
I hope you enjoyed my Cowboy Bush Painting and hearing about my thought process. And, I know I can ramble, but I aint sorry for beating around the Bush.
Viva La Resistance!
(Update) Someone suggested I add my website. You can see more of my artwork at my website: Art Website of Miles Halpern