We the People

by Steve Henderson

Buy the Original Painting

Price

$3,300

Dimensions

30.000 x 30.000 x 1.500 inches

Title

We the People

Artist

Steve Henderson

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

Who are The People?

Throughout history and the world, groups of human beings have called themselves The People. They share a culture, a language, a land in which they live, a belief in who and what they are. Many times they have family connections. They are a tribe.

In North America, prior to their being decimated by government and its armies, many indigenous groups – some peaceful, some not – called themselves The People. They saw themselves as unique, special, treasured by a Creator who had made them and saw them as his children. They themselves treasured the land upon which they lived, seeing it as a gift from the Creator, from Nature, from Mother Earth – from some benevolent force who takes an interest in ordinary, everyday, genuine, real people.

The artwork, We the People, shows a grandmother, her daughter, and her daughter’s child. Standing as a trio, looking out onto land that they once considered theirs upon which to live, they see a different past, present, and future.

The grandmother grew up in another world, one in which the imperialist and business forces of a select group of aggressive and powerful people had not yet planted their foot. She grew up with traditions and customs that her grandmother before her would have known.

Her daughter lives in a time of transition. The aggressive and powerful people have planted their feet. They attack; they push; they force. They make promises that they fully expect to break, and they do break them. The world of this young woman is one of chaos and unwelcome change, of uncertainty, of hopes raised and then dashed. Will the aggressive and powerful people allow her and her family to live as they once did? Will things go back to normal? She doesn’t know, because nothing of this magnitude has ever happened to her, or her People, before.

And then there is the child, too young to know about any of this, secure upon the mother’s back. For this child, there will be “The Indian Wars,” the breakup of The People, the forced internment in reservations, the government schools where the new ways, the new normal, will be taught, driving out the wisdom and teaching of centuries. For the trio standing here, this is the future.

But for us, today, it is history. And throughout the history of “civilization,” the powerful push forth.

For those who are peaceful, who are ordinary, everyday, genuine, and real, it is wise to remember those who are not. We have more than enough history to teach us, if we are willing to learn.

Featured on 39 Fine Art America groups, including 1000 views.

Featured Social Commentary of the Week, Our World Gallery group -- January 2021

Uploaded

January 22nd, 2021

Statistics

Viewed 6,810 Times  -  Last Visitor from Baltimore, MD on 04/18/2024 at 11:54 PM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags