Artivism
Norbert, Jean-Antoine. Black Liberty. 2020. Oil on canvas. 120 in. x 90 in.
“Black Liberty” is a massive 10’ wide by 7.5’ tall mural-like painting depicting the Statue of Liberty National Monument in New York, New York with a fusion of the face of George Floyd. The lower portion of the painting features a replica of the plate at the base of the monument featuring the poem by Emma Lazarus “With silent lips, give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”. Atop of which is hand-sprayed with graffiti Floyd’s last words, “I can’t breathe!”. This painting is a protest against systemic racism, the inequality of civil rights, and in the treatment of people of color by the police and other authorities, particularly in the USA though it exists to some degree in most countries.
Castles.S. (1993), “Systematic ideas of 'race', in which phenotypical characteristics (skin colour, physical features) arose through European colonialism: from the 15th century onwards, religiously inspired views on the barbarity and inferiority of the indigenous peoples of Africa, Asia and America were created by Royalty, and were used to legitimate invasion, genocide, slavery and exploitation.” .
Nowadays, when a situation doesn’t go in our favor, even though there is no right for it, we use prejudice such as skin color, physical features to manipulate reality. This is done for no other reason than put ourselves first.
Though we are all spiritual beings having that same spirit or spark in us. With this consciousness of having that sameness inside, we can say we have the same value, dignity, and rights.
For this reason, the situation we live in now, following the death of George Floyd is a spiritual crisis and the only way out is to see every human being as a spiritual being having the same value, dignity, and rights.
Ref : Castles.S. (1993), Racism: a global analysis, Centre for Multicultural Studies, University of Wollongong, Occasional Paper 28, 1993, 45.
Norbert, Jean-Antoine. Study after F. Bacon, Study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. 2017. Oil on canvas. 72 in. x 58 in.
On September 24, 2015, Pope Francis gave a speech to the Congress of the United States of America during the Presidency of Barack Obama. Standing between the Democratic Vice President Joseph Biden (left) and then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican John Boehner (right), Pope Francis (center) take a stance against extreme political agendas. This painting is a scream of protest against the Trump political agenda.
Symbolism
Norbert, Jean-Antoine. Euphoria and Suffering II. 2016. Oil on canvas. 81 in. x 83 in.
I like to use symbolic images to express my struggles, or more generally, those of society. Euphoria and Suffering I & II, is depicting the id, my desires, and how I was perceiving aggressiveness negatively. The painting expresses my Joy, of course, and the beauty of women and nature.
An ecstatic diver appears in Euphoria and Suffering II oil on canvas, her body framed against a background of blue sky interspersed with soft, white clouds. Her dancer’s limbs are organized, symmetrical. Her back is arched, her head is thrown back. Another shark figures in this picture is menacing, the sharp tip of its nose aimed at the diving woman, its mouth open, hungry…
