Rescuing the Importance of Winslow Homer’s Life Line

In our current “War on Terror,” it’s sometimes hard to imagine or appreciate the terrors of times gone by. For Americans of the 19^th century, stories of shipwrecks struck deep into their souls. Many harbored fresh memories of a harrowing crossing to the New World from Europe. Tales of rescue efforts that were too little, too late, or both filled newspapers and raised public ire. In the response to this uproar, the U.S. Government legislated in 1878 the development of a network of coastal life-saving stations called the Live-Saving Service. Six years later, Winslow Homer painted The Life Line, a celebration of these rescuing heroes that made Homer famous almost overnight and that still captures viewers’ imaginations today. Shipwreck! Winslow Homer and “The Life Line”, which runs at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through December 16, 2012, rescues the importance of this stirring picture not just as a great artistic achievement but also as a snapshot of a moment in time when heroes won their war on the terror of the seas. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Rescuing the Importance of Winslow Homer’s Life Line."

[Image: Winslow Homer, American, 1836-1910. The Life Line, 1884. Oil on canvas, 28 5/8 x 44 3/4 inches (72.7 x 113.7 cm). Philadelphia Museum of Art, The George W. Elkins Collection, 1924.]

 
[Many thanks to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for the image above, an invitation to the press release for, and press materials related to Shipwreck! Winslow Homer and “The Life Line”, which runs through December 16, 2012.]

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Art

Nothing haunts like a skeleton in the closet. When art museums and cultural institutions talk about their treasures, there are always a few items they’d rather keep out of the conversation. In Controversy 2: Pieces We Don’t Talk About, which runs through December 30, 2012 at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, the Ohio Historical Society once again takes a few skeletons out of their closet. Focusing on five items from their archives that touch on stereotypes, the organizers don’t just dare to touch the third rail but dance along its length while inviting viewers to dance with them. By opening up the conversation about what we don’t talk about when we talk about art, Controversy 2 takes us to the dark side and sheds light not only on the pieces themselves but also on how to talk about them. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Art."

[Image: Currier and Ives. Detail of lithographic print from the Darktown Series, 1882-1893. Caption: “Darktown Athletics—A Running High Jump. Match between the darktown grasshopper and the blackville frog.” These hand-colored lithographs are part of a series created by Currier and Ives called the Darktown Series. The company made the prints between 1879 and 1893. With over 100 scenes in the theme, it was among the most popular and best-selling series that Currier and Ives produced.]

[Many thanks to the Ohio Historical Society and Sharon Dean, director of Museum and Library Services, for providing me with the image above and other materials related to Controversy 2: Pieces We Don’t Talk About, which runs through December 30, 2012 at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio.]