Folk artist Earl Cunningham at the National Portrait Gallery
While in Washington over Labor Day weekend, I had the pleasure of going for the first time to the National Portrait Gallery, which I mentioned in my post on Saul Steinberg. Currently, through November 4th, they have an exhibit on the life and works of a man named Earl Cunningham, who was born in Maine and eventually made his way to Florida where he spent many years painting.
What makes Cunningham’s work great is that he really plays off of the symbolism of place to demonstrate his understanding of how we take place remnants when we move to different locations, either permanently or temporarily, throughout our lives. Here’s a quote from the Smithsonian’s page on the exhibit:
Cunningham’s imaginary landscapes are marvels of the unexpected and the unlikely—pink flamingos dot the shoreline of the Maine coast, New England cottages sit at the edge of Florida swamps, Viking ships float in harbors with schooners, and Seminole Indians wear feathered headdresses. In this make-believe world, Cunningham presents a nostalgic view of the past in which life is simple and elements of modern life are absent.
Most of the artists of today who use these symbols of paradise are either too aware of what they mean and fail to escape from them (I recall a painting I once saw with a McDonald’s sign popping up above the tree canopy of a tropical island), or they are not aware of how much control the symbols have over our perceptions of a daily desire to escape. Cunningham was different.
For several years now, I have been exploring the ways in which we inject tropical paradise into other communities, particularly into other types of coastal places and in deserts. Cunningham was one of the first to recognize the strong connections that his origins in the Northeast had with the day-to-day South and the images he had of far-off lands, such as the Red Sea or volcanic islands.
You have to look beyond the Smithsonian’s limited cliche description of flamingoes dotting the Maine coast as a key “marvel” in Cunningham’s landscape. That description is as limited as Fragonard’s flamingo pink paint. His work holds a greater meaning to me.
Cunningham threw the symbols around to show his mastery over his understanding of place and, more specifically, places. His work shows how our desire to escape through travel can never really take out the meanings we derive from the places in which we exist along each path we take in life. It is for this reason that I think his work should be celebrated.
And for all those Mainers who think that life is or will be better in Florida, home is calling you back. Don’t be fooled by any flamingoes.
For thumbnail images of some of his work, please visit this PDF link. Other basic exhibit information can be found in this PDF.
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Posted on September 18, 2007
Filed Under Art, Cultural Symbols, Travel |
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