BARN OF THE DAY 63

Yes, that is a square you see

Behind barn number 63

 

Barn with Gray Square

Pastel

20x30

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BLACK & WHITE V. GRAY - or why today's news depresses me

All artists, especially visual artists, are conscious of values as they relate to the darkness and lightness of color.  Pure black and pure white are classic examples of two extremes in value.  With a little imagination one can imagine a series of boxes or circles, starting with a pure black and gradually becoming lighter until the last one is pure white, with a ranged of grays in between.  This is a value scale which can be applied to all colors, and paintings done using the extreme end of this scale generally evoke more interest than ones rendered almost entirely in a small range of values.  The movement between the two extremes, in art, music, and life in general creates tension and interest.  Clearly there are times when a far more consistent demeanor or palette is desirable, but for this narrative, the emphasis is on the black and white.

 Unfortunately, in spite of its artistic desirability, the world in which we live is not black and white.  Instead, with few exceptions, we live in a world of varying degrees of gray, although you might not know that based on the current public political discourse in our country today.  According to many politicians, columnists, and talking and blogging heads, everything and everyone is right or wrong, good or bad, or weak or strong.  If you propose a new government service you are a Socialist.  If you believe in a strong free market you are a greedy capitalist.   It is so much easier for politicians to identify themselves and appeal to their bases - generally in the extremes of each party - than to honestly acknowledge that good ideas can be found across the political spectrum, and that no one has a monopoly on the truth.  Woe be to the politician who vainly tries to see the middle ground; he or she is quickly labeled someone who cannot be or act decisively, and cannot be counted to support the party, and clearly the good of party is more important than that of the country.  Blaming the other side is more important than listening or seeking common ground.  Today no one is willing to publicly grant praise on someone of the opposition until he or she dies, and even then it is often equivocal.  

Sadly this movement to the extremes exists in all arenas of public discourse.  It is easier, less complicated, and for some probably less threatening, than attempting to acknowledge, let alone see all sides of an issue.  It is a large black v white hat that easily accommodates conservatives, liberals, corporate executives, union leaders, as well as those “of faith” and without faith.

This state of affairs distresses me greatly.  There was a time I enjoyed the news, written, spoken, and otherwise, and looked forward to the morning coffee and the newspapers.  Now it is a chore I force upon myself, feeling it is my civic responsibility.  The worst part of this is that I can see no signs of improvement, either now or in the future.  Until we place the greater good before our own ideology and interests we are doomed to be governed by ineffective politicians and powerful self interests, and to be bombarded by pompous self righteous noise from all sides.  Undoubtedly there are many reasons for this current state of affairs, but one that stands out, at least in my mind, is the 24 hour news cycle with its need for filler, usually a talking head who speaks with or without validated information, relying greatly on the opinion of “experts”, and presenting us with a black and white world of either or; the discourse is devoid of all but the extremes.

WHERE'S THE GRAY?

Gray or grey ...describes any shade between black and white. Collectively, white, black, and the range of greys between them are known as achromatic colors or neutral colors. (Wikipedia)

Artists think of colors in terms of their value on a scale of dark to light. Without color this scale goes from black to white, with grays in the transition zone. Paintings done using highly contrasting values are generally more dramatic and interesting than paintings done exclusively in the middle values, although their are exceptions.

Stark contrasts, black and white = drama and interest

McConnell House-Cape May NJ

Gradients of gray = less drama and less interest


Hughs Street House-Cape May NJ

We live in a complex world and a complex society, locally, nationally, and globally, with extensive interconnections and overlapping. It would be beneficial if we could identify universal truths on which policies and decisions could be made, a world cast in black and white. But that is not the case; we live in an environment with many shades of gray. And since grays are not as interesting, public discourse tends to focus on the black and the white. This is especially true in the broadcast media, and in political speeches. It is easier to avoid the grays, they’re more complicated and take more effort to articulate. Never mind that they are more likely to be significant and/or applicable to whatever the issue might be. Instead we get: “you are either for us or against us”, you’re a hawk or a dove”, If your for the war your patriotic, if your not, your not a patriot”, labels and sound bites, in glorious black and white! You will have difficulty finding grays in major broadcast journalism (NPR excluded), tragically, even in the political “talk shows and the recent primary debates. To find the grays it is necessary to turn to selective specialty and scholarly journals and magazines, those with and without an ideological ax to grind.
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Gray = Nuance and requires that we excercise out capacities to think and discern,l something our politicians and paritsan extremist want us to avoid doing.

Hughs st. house
McConnell house