For Schwerner/Chaney/Goodman, 1968, 71" X 68"
Assassinations suicide bombings, 9/11; inhuman acts continue as if we never learned anything -- tolerance, dignity, justice, morality.
In a paper in 1969 Roman talked about the role artists must take to answer these inhuman acts, in an effort to mirror back to the people what they are doing. Was his call to action unheeded? Not as far as artists taking up the challenge. Vietnam came to an end. Legal segregation ended. But humankind has not made a great deal of progress, as other outrages took their place.The message often fell on deaf ears and blind eyes.
The two dimensional
pieces in this show were assembled over time, combining magazine and newspaper
images to communicate Roman's anger at the injustices of the era. Many
faces you will recognize -- MLK, JFK, RFK, Jacqueline Kennedy, Julian
Bond, Malcolm X, George Wallace -- all alongside the thousands of others
that died, suffered, marched, sat in, fought, and brought about change.
The 2D works are tame in contrast to the three dimensional works. In Roman's
3D pieces there is a sense of his need to communicate viscerally. The
November 22, 1963 piece was done in one day. As is true of many in my
generation, I can tell you exactly where I was and what I was doing when
I learned of the assassination of President Kennedy, and that event still
looms large in our collective consciousness. The Dealey Plaza Sixth Floor
Museum in Dallas, overlooking the assassination site, hosts about 500,000
visitors a year. Is it dated? Only by the specific event it abhors.
Mel Roman's art marks a bleak time in our history. Unfortunately, the
events he depicts still occur, even as we watch.
"Mel Roman: Marking Time"
In the Lawrence and Fortune Galleries, September 10 - December 22.A reception
to honor Mel Roman and his gift will be from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, September
29.
written by: AS
Dallas: November 22, 1963, Assemblage, 43" X 39" X 12"
