View to Understanding: Juggling Children

#281 Juggling Children
2003–2004, oil on canvas, 24" x 18", $2000 plus GST

We were in New York in 2001, just two months after September 11th. At the Guggenheim, there was a long line up to enter. This was a first for us but felt it might have been security, which most public places were very conscious of. Instead. it was the last day of a Norman Rockwell retrospective. There were hundreds of paintings and discussions about the artist’s life. His work was based on posed photographs rendered in oil. What struck me was the care he took to get the ideas of his images across. His style was photo-realism and very idealized. Unfortunately for him he wanted to be recognized as a serious artist and this eluded him in his lifetime. Of course my “Juggling Children” is impossible. At the same time I felt like that. Taking care to not let them drop. This painting is about trust - both of the children certainly, but more my trust. It does no good to worry about making mistakes, for a parent will, and will still create people who can make it in this world. Norman Rockwell idealized the American family; I think in this painting I showed my interpretation of this reality.


	#281 Juggling Children 2003–2004, oil on canvas, 24" x 18", $2000 plus GST We were in New York in 2001, just two months after September 11th. At the Guggenheim, there was a long line up to enter. This was a first for us but felt it might have been security, which most public places were very conscious of. Instead. it was the last day of a Norman Rockwell retrospective. There were hundreds of paintings and discussions about the artist’s life. His work was based on posed photographs rendered in oil. What struck me was the care he took to get the ideas of his images across. His style was photo-realism and very idealized. Unfortunately for him he wanted to be recognized as a serious artist and this eluded him in his lifetime. Of course my “Juggling Children” is impossible. At the same time I felt like that. Taking care to not let them drop. This painting is about trust - both of the children certainly, but more my trust. It does no good to worry about making mistakes, for a parent will, and will still create people who can make it in this world. Norman Rockwell idealized the American family; I think in this painting I showed my interpretation of this reality.
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