Norman Rockwell's World: An American Dream
Essay by review • November 21, 2010 • Essay • 705 Words (3 Pages) • 1,514 Views
Norman Rockwell's World: An American Dream.
A dreamer indeed, Norman Rockwell paintings portray
American life at its best. Born in New York City in 1894 back
when horse and buggy was the main transportation, along with the
trolleys that filled the streets. Fun in those days was simple,
a picnic in the park, play baseball in the street, or shoot
marbles. His heroes when he was a kid were all illustrators.
When Norman Rockwell went to work doing covers for the
Saturday Evening Post his career took off, as the nation began
to see his work regularly, his popularity boomed. Not bad for a
kid from New York City that dropped out of high school. At the
time of this film 1987 Norman Rockwell had already lived through
World war's I and II, the Korean conflict, Vietnam. Also
Lindberg's first flight and the First flight to the moon.
Norman Rockwell's paintings are a history of American
culture. He painted things common to all Americans, events, real
people, common people, and familiar faces. Always painted in a
positive way, even during negative times in America. His
paintings make you proud to be an American. They bring back
memories of a better time. A stroll in the park, a family
picnic, baseball, hotdogs, and apple pie.
His paintings reflect his culture and the way life should
be in his eyes. In the small town Norman Rockwell was living in
at the time of this film, he had painted every person in the
small New England town. His themes are 100% American. A cowboy,
a hayride, a boy fishing, a farmer, kids eating watermelon,
riding bicycles, the holidays, bridges, baseball, sports, war.
Or his ideas reflecting freedom of speech or prayer.
I personally enjoyed the film, I love Norman Rockwell's
work. I think we are fortunate today compared to earlier periods
of art in the fact that this artist can make a film and talk
about his own life and ideas. To me this guy is like my hero, he
can see the beauty in the most simplest of things that I think
most people take for granted. How many people can truly see the
beauty of a couple kids smiling having fun and eating a big
slice of cool watermelon. Or a boy playing baseball and getting
his first hit. Perhaps a sailor coming home from sea and kissing
his wife at the dock. I think he paints about how life should
really be.
I did not see
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