Conquering Racism

When I entered the art gallery in Woods Hall, the first thing to catch my eye was a very simple picture of an aged African American man wearing a dark flat bill hat that had the words World War II Veteran stitched onto the front. This picture labeled “Rufus Davis” was taken by a man named Jonathon Purvis of the SynArts Cotillion. I am not completely sure what it was about this simple black and white picture that caught my eye but as I stood there and looked at the picture I began to realize that it was the simplicity of the picture that brought such a powerful message to me. At first glance the old man’s face looked stern and hard, but when I looked a little closer and into his eyes I noticed the old man’s apparent sadness. As I noticed his heartbroken face, I felt a tingling rise up my spine. This tingling sensation was the feeling of patriotism and respect for the people who have sacrificed so much for our country. In this picture, the old man’s face has the look of a man that has been deeply wounded and had much pain throughout his long life. However, despite his pains and suffering brought from the war and the racism of old times the old man wears his veteran’s hat proudly demanding respect from whomever he comes in contact with.


The next piece of art I chose to write about from the exhibit was an untitled picture with the initials L.B.M. 07 written into the bottom of the picture containing Muhammad Ali. This picture at first seemed to be of the famous fight between Muhammad Ali and Sonny Liston in which Ali knocked out Liston, but as I looked at it I noticed that in place of Liston is a robot gorilla whose body has been dismembered with his head knocked off. In this black and white picture, Ali stands swaggering in the boxing ring over his defeated opponent tensing his muscles after delivering his final blow to the gorilla robot. When I first saw this picture I could not help but notice that the audience in the background was largely made up of white males which added to the large amount of racial details among this piece of art.


Both of the pieces I have written about deal strongly with our older black generation defeating racism. In the “Rufus Davis” picture the war veteran has apparently fought in a war for a country of whites who were degrading and disrespectful to this man’s entire race. Despite his treatment this man fights for the country that he calls home and fights for the hope that one day he can be treated equally with the white race. The same applies for the picture of Muhammad Ali in that he lived in a time full of racism and violence and fought to become champion of a sport that had been for centuries a white man’s sport. Through Muhammad’s fighting he became a champion and a hero to many people pushing for change in the times of which racism and hatred was at its strongest. Both of these men are fighting against racism but they are both fighting it in their own different ways.


In contrast both of these people in the artwork are at a different point in their lives. Muhammad is shown fighting in his prime where his career is at an apex, whereas the picture of Rufus was taken far past his prime towards the probable end of his life. Ali’s life was probably a bit more luxurious and less along the lines of just making ends meat compared to Rufus’s life in which he was probably constantly doing hard labor and barely getting by to support his family or even just himself.


Each piece of art from Muhammad Ali to Rufus Davis and the many other pieces in the art exhibit each have their own meeting and story behind it. By attending the SynArts Cotillion art exhibit I have been able to expand my ability to write beyond sitting in the classroom and into the real world of writing about things out in the world. I also learned by attending the exhibit that there is more to art galleries than wealthy people walking around sipping their wines, but that art is for everyone willing to expand their creativity and inspire thought in people’s minds.