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Jun 20, 2024
Media: Acrylic
Size: 12x16 in
I seldom paint with the intent of making a statement. But this painting is in response to recent happenings in some parts of the USA. Books are being banned. Libraries are under attack. Schools are being told to teach a form of revisionist history that minimizes the importance of slavery and race relations. Painting a picture of burning books is my form of protest. While I’m not aware of books being burned today, historically, it has happened. Even today, banning books is in essence the same as burning them. The painting “warns” of the threats to all factual scholarship, and the consequences of anti-intellectual activity in this country. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "By November of last year (2023), 22 state legislatures had passed 40 'gag' order laws and policies that censor topics involving race, and 17 states have passed 26 anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion laws since 2021. Lawmakers have introduced 484 LGBTQ+ bills in 2024 legislative sessions."An interesting footnote on the banning of books: My son’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon, was banned by the Alabama State Prison System. I seldom paint with the intent of making a statement. But this painting is in response to recent happenings in some parts of the USA. Books are being banned. Libraries are under attack. Schools are being told to teach a form of revisionist history that minimizes the importance of slavery and race relations. Painting a picture of burning books is my form of protest. While I’m not aware of books being burned today, historically, it has happened. Even today, banning books is in essence the same as burning them. The painting “warns” of the threats to all factual scholarship, and the consequences of anti-intellectual activity in this country. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, "By November of last year (2023), 22 state legislatures had passed 40 'gag' order laws and policies that censor topics involving race, and 17 states have passed 26 anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion laws since 2021. Lawmakers have introduced 484 LGBTQ+ bills in 2024 legislative sessions."An interesting footnote on the banning of books: My son’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Slavery by Another Name by Douglas A. Blackmon, was banned by the Alabama State Prison System. |
Available Paintings by Bob Blackmon
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