Not Quite Sure

by Steve Henderson

Original - Not For Sale

Price

Not Specified

Dimensions

11.000 x 14.000 inches

Title

Not Quite Sure

Artist

Steve Henderson

Medium

Drawing - Pen On Paper

Description

When it comes to whom they trust, children are wiser than adults.

Their circle starts small: mom, who births them, then dad – these two meet their constant infant needs, physically holding and protecting them against an unfriendly world.

Siblings and grandparents join the group, then cousins, aunts, uncles. Bit by bit people are added as they prove to the child their right to be there.

As children grow older, they rightly distrust strangers, but we adults – who have been conditioned to see fitting in and not being difficult as positive attributes – too often try to override a child’s natural protective suspicion:

“Do what the doctor says.”

“Obey all your teachers and be respectful. They know best. Questioning them is talking back, and that’s wrong.”

“That woman is in uniform. Smile at her so she doesn’t think you don’t like her. That would be rude.”

Years of this teach a child to trust others, especially those in authority, for no other reason than the positions that these strangers hold – politician, medico, teacher, pastor, financier, Influencer, actor, newscaster – as opposed to their character.

The artwork, Not Quite Sure, focuses on a young child who is, indeed, not quite sure about the situation. The image is based upon a photograph taken by Edward Curtis, a photographer who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was commissioned by wealthy overlords to capture the “disappearing” Native Americans and their culture.

What this young Navajo is looking at we don’t know, but what is fairly obvious is the sense of wariness, watchfulness, in the child’s face. Whoever or whatever the child is looking at does not fit into the circle of trust, and thereby does not deserve the child’s innocent confidence.

Is this rude? In cultures that exalt obedience, yes. Is this wise? Most definitely, because the child is vulnerable, and not all people are kind. In light of historical hindsight, suspicion on the part of both children and adults in the Native American communities was wise.

Because throughout history, including today, not all people are kind.

Featured on 28 Fine Art America groups, including Art in Innovation.

Uploaded

March 2nd, 2021

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