The best way to understand history is not through a backwards look through time reconstructing a narrative from tidbits of info.
William H. Johnson, Folk Family, ca. 1944, oil on plywood.
Novels, Paintings, Sculpture, Music and Dance created at the time, provides a better picture of what life was like, what people appreciated and the challenges they encountered. I think this can also be said about curating the work that is on display at the “White House”. As historians look back at this period, they will make note of the first African American President and First Lady and the distinctions between them and earlier occupants of the “White House”. In particular the selection of paintings, sculptures and performing artists who were featured, will say more about these times then most anything else.
One of Mrs. Obama’s selections, Johnson’s “Folk Family”, speaks to commonality, aspirations and accomplishment for the African in America over the last 100 years.
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