I have do not know John Gurda but have always admired his work on the history of Milwaukee. I have all of his books and enjoy his monrhly columns in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel even as they have become increasingly political. He clearly leans left but I've never been one to think that having and expressing political views undermines one's professional or academic work. In areas that are politically fraught (and both public law and history are), people who claim to pronounce from the Olympian Heights are often fooling themselves.
So I offer the following with some measure of sympathy. In his Sunday column, Gurda recites a bit of Wisconsin's abolitionist history and then calls for an end to our current civil war in which, he says, "confrontation has trumped compromise and ideology has overwhelmed practicality."
A bit over the top, I suppose, but there is a point to be made. I've called Wisconsin "the bloody Kansas" of our current political divide, although I do so with some irony. I think the Left's response to Scott Walker is hysterical and detached from reality. But we could all do well to dial it down a bit.
But I'd take Gurda a bit more seriously if he hadn't - in the same issue of the paper - allowed his own ideology to overcome common sense. He calls it tone deaf and "breathtaking." Taking down David Lenz' "Wishes in the Wind" is hardly tantamount to removing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre. The painting is OK but it's hardly a masterwork. It evokes a kind of Sesame Street urbanism - possibly because anything else would be too edgy for the Governor;s Mansion. It is in a realistic style that some would argue is tantamount to photography and unappealing.
In any event, choosing a work that emphasizes a different theme is hardly evidence of animosity toward children or the poor. Promoting the view that removing a painting is a politically divisive act is itself a triumph of ideology. I understand that we boomers once thought that the personal is the political. It was a bad idea then. It still is.
10 comments:
I like the way you amalgamate compliment and criticism.
Rick, you oughta see Lenz's rural paintings. They are extraordinary. This guy captures the soul of Wisconsin.
http://www.davidmlenz.com/Rural/Rural_Secnes_a.htm
If interior re-decoration at the Governor's mansion is newsworthy, the media should tell the public about the changes the Doyle family made when they moved in, and what deep political insights can be drawn from those changes.
Although the media didn't cover it, presumably McCallum had artwork in the governor's mansion that paid tribute to various aspects of life in Wisconsin -- for example, a painting of a farmer in the fields, or a family picnicking in Door County. Any inference that by replacing such artwork when he moved in, Doyle showed himself to be unsympathetic towards farmers or families in Door County would be asinine. Similarly asinine are the inferences being drawn about Walker based on the Lenz painting.
It doesn't surprise me that you admire art. Afterall, what is law but the art of words!
One of the reasons this has received so much attention is that the painting was commissioned by the foundation that takes care of the residence. This idea was driven by the foundation, not by the artist.
Second, it just so happens that Walker is also balancing the budget on the backs of the poor and vulnerable of society. The only group that gets a tax increase is the working poor.
Just like Dan Quayle's misspelling of potato cemented the idea that he was not too bright, Walker has shown callus disregard for the most vulnerable of society, both in his budget and in taking down the painting.
Funny how conservatives think the painting as trite, ugly, unappealing... Liberals think it is uplifting, moving, beautiful. So the quality of the art is now determined by your political point of view? That is ridiculous.
"Taking down David Lenz' "Wishes in the Wind" is hardly tantamount to removing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre."
Yes, and your writing doesn’t even compare to Hemingway.
The change in Art relates to the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. You know, History. I know Lefties are allergic to anything older than this morning.
http://blog.uwgb.edu/inside/index.php/featured/leading-learning/04/11/150th-anniversary-of-civil-war/
http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/118998139.html
A number of Wisconsin regiments were distinguished, including three that served in the celebrated Iron Brigade— the 2nd Wisconsin, 6th Wisconsin, and 7th Wisconsin. All were noted for their hard fighting and dashing appearance, being among the only troops in the Army of the Potomac to wear Hardee hats and long frock coats. They suffered severely at the Battle of Gettysburg in July 1863. The 8th Wisconsin, another hard-fighting regiment, was often accompanied into battle by its mascot, Old Abe, a bald eagle.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_in_the_American_Civil_War
http://www.wlhn.org/topics/abolition/bios.htm
This art will also capture the soul of Wisconsin.
Based on their protests about the replacement Civil War paintings, it's reasonable to infer that liberals are pro-slavery.
Post a Comment