An 18th-century Polish rabbi, Simcha Bunim, wrote, “For my sake the world was created; I am nothing but dust and ashes.” The artist, contemplating the rabbi’s remarks, came to the conclusion that his words were extraordinarily profound. This dichotomy allows people to do great things and still be altruistic to their fellow human beings. Balance was the key which allows one to go through life with as few regrets as possible and still be a decent human being. In his painting, Fenton has Napoleon crowning himself Emperor of France while simultaneously seeing Somalian children dissolving into dust and ashes. Fenton portrays himself in double portraits, depicting the juxtaposition of extremes.
Tag: people
Laminations of Jeremiah
Fenton describes people throwing rocks at Jews whom they have been taught to hate. In the process of their actions, they fracture the world, a world in which the highest moral standards are the bulwark against destruction. Even so, the Jews fracture as easily as the world. The weeping prophet Jeremiah witnesses all from his vantage point between the layers of the broken world.
Bicycle Accident
People gather at the Jefferson Memorial. It is a place that unites Americans, and yet the figures in this painting function as individuals or small groups that are oblivious to the commonality of all, even to the bicycle accident off to their right.