“Let's go back to Homer’s view of the ocean since the ocean is
important to you, and increasingly so to me?”
“Homer
has many paintings of the ocean benefiting humans in various ways, as a source
of beauty, recreation, work, and food. But it has a destructive side as well.
The painting Undertow shows two women
who were enjoying the ocean as bathers when they were caught in an undertow, in
part having been weighed down by their waterlogged bathing dresses. Yet, Homer’s
painting Summer Night shows two women
dancing in the moonlight with the sea in the background. There is also a group
of people sitting and marveling at the moon-lit sea. I believe the painting
expresses Homer’s idealized vision of how life should be lived—joyfully and
appreciatively. It might have been his painting that gave me the idea of
appreciative awareness.”
“Did
Homer talk about that?”
“Apparently
he didn’t talk about his paintings at all. He wanted his paintings to speak to
viewers as life spoke to him as a compassionate observer. Still, he was a
philosophical painter. His philosophy of life is in his paintings.”
“About
God as well, whom we once again have forgotten?”
“Forgetting
about God is easy to do when discussing Homer’s paintings.”
“But
I need to know what you think Homer’s paintings The Life Line, The Wreck of the Iron Crown, and Cast up by the sea say about God. You brought up the topic, and
you’ve talked about Undertow, The Life Line and The
Wreck of the Iron Crown.
So tell me about Cast up by the sea
and what the paintings say about God.”
“Your
teachers must have loved you.”
“I
wouldn’t go that far. I was a difficult student. Anyway, don’t stray from the
topic of the sea and God.”
“Okay.
Cast up by the sea describes a
fisherman discovering a young woman’s body that has been washed up on a beach
after a shipwreck. Like Undertow the
painting is based actual events.”
“And
what about God?”
“He
is absent in all the paintings. In Undertow,
Life Line and The Wreck of the Iron Crown people are rescued by men. In Cast up by the sea the woman drowned
because there were no men to rescue her.”
“I
get your point. You’re saying God is irrelevant because he is absent when
people are at risk. People are saved or rescued by other people—men and women—but
not by God. Thus people must rely upon themselves because they can’t rely on
God.”
“That’s
it exactly. And Homer’s paintings say that helping one another and appreciating
life is what we should be doing, not killing one another in war.”
“So
you got quite a lot from that book on Homer.”
“I
did, but what I got that was most impressive is his view of life is quite
simple yet profound. I would say that all one needs to know about life is
contained in his paintings. Religion, philosophy, and science aren’t really
needed when it comes down to how we need to live to achieve the good life, an
ideal life.”
“It’s
amazing how much you learned from one book.”
“No
doubt other books help me interpret Homer’s paintings as well as my own
lifeworld experiences. But Homer’s paintings sharpened my thinking about what I
read and experienced. His paintings say stop, look, and think about what you
see. Words can do that but not as vividly or emotionally. What Homer did that
is most amazing is bring ideas alive by translating them into pictures.”
“Was
Homer and optimist or a pessimist or both if that’s possible?”
“Judging
by his paintings I would say he was a pessimist. He certainly appreciated life
as magical and majestic, but believed it was always at risk—and that which was
most precious was most vulnerable. As it turned out, history proved he had
reason to be pessimistic.”
“You
mean war?”
“War
is the destructive torrent of masculinity. Men can be protectors and sustainers
of life, but primordially their dominant tendency is aggression. And the
primordial destructive tendencies of nature are by illustrated by the paintings
of storms and sharks. ”
“But
what did that all mean for Homer?”
“That
fundamentally life consist of form and chaos. Form was most clearly represented
by his pastoral paintings, paintings of women and children, but perhaps The Gulf Stream best illustrates his
worldview. Unlike most Americans then
and now Homer’s paintings show compassion for black people, similar to but not
as affectionate as his love for women and children.”
“Why
was that?”
“I
doubt he interacted much with black people, so knew them only as an observer. I
can’t say for sure but Homer relationship to the world was similar to that of a
scientist, more of an observer than a participant. He would isolate himself his
Maine studio that looked out upon the ocean.”
“Like
William Wordsworth’s relationship to the world as you explained his poem ‘The
Solitary Reaper.’”
“Yes,
but Wordsworth married and had children. Homer didn’t. He was completely
devoted to his art, which to me makes sense because I believe he knew he had
something important to say with his art.”
“In
the way you’ve explained his art?”
“All
I can say is that his paintings clearly value the fundamentals of life—love,
beauty, family, work, friendship, and nature. From what I read, he dislike
cities, and my guess would be he did because he saw them as artificial and
perhaps even unwholesome entities.
“Environmentalists
would agree. So do I.”
“They’re
creations of man rather than of nature. I suppose what I’m saying, and I may be
wrong, is that Homer believed white society had become increasingly artificial,
whereas the black society of his time retained its roots to the organic world.
At least the paintings show as much.”
“That
sounds a little racist.”
“I
know.”
“Have
you known many black people?”
“A
few, but not many.”
“And...?”
“In
my experience black people always came across as less judgmental of people,
whereas white people tend to categorize people according to race, religion,
nationality, occupation, or some other category. That was probably even truer in Homer’s time. Getting back to The
Gulf Stream, the painting indicates Homer’s view that all we value is
threatened by chaotic forces, be they caused by men or by nature.”
“Not
women?”
“I
don’t see how, and apparently neither did Homer.”
“And
the black man on the boat?”
“Well, he lives close to nature as a fisherman. He is accepting of its hardships. What I see in the man isn’t philosophical stoicism, an intellectual acceptance of life’s hardships, but something more profound. He accepts what nature has to offer for better or worse because he is part of nature. As a fisherman he kills the fish that would kill him. In the struggle for life they are bound together. And his closeness to nature would have appealed to Homer, who was a fisherman of nature’s beautiful and sublime characteristics. However, I find this painting as indicating that Homer’s frame of mind as being pessimistic. The year was 1899. The Gilded Age of American corruption had already been severely criticized by Mark Twain in 1873 in a book of that title. In addition, the Industrial Age was also in full swing. A new world order associated with technology, industrialization, and urbanization that was disagreeable to many artists was emerging. According to Homer’s paintings, I don’t see how the new industrialized world would appeal to him. Besides that the plight of black Americans hadn’t improved much beyond their no longer being slaves. In addition, nature was taking a beating from the civilization process. Two of Homer’s painting that I recall indicate that he was aware of the destructive side of civilization. Waiting for a Bite shows two boys fishing in the foreground. Behind them is a field of tree stumps indicating a forest had been clear cut. The rust colored vegetation creates a desolate landscape.
The other painting Landscape shows a field of tree stumps. The message seems to be that the civilizing process destroys nature, creating a lifeless setting. The tone of these paintings is much different from the paintings showing boys frolicking in green fields.
