Palmer Museum of Art

Title: Cotton Choppers

Artist: Benny Andrews

Year: 1965

This piece was created using oil on canvas and depicts a few people of African descent working in a field. There are plants which are planted somewhat methodically in rows, which are small and being tended to by the workers. The description of the picture reveals that it took place in the south during a time of segregation. We also know Benny Andrews, the artist, is a vivid storyteller, and that this painting came from his perception of the social situation and his childhood memories of the event. As a narrative-based artist, his work evokes a lot of emotion. Because of this, his work is very touching and believable. During the time this was painted in the south, the Civil Rights Movement was going on and it just followed the signing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

                This piece relates strongly to emotion because it shows the way people of color were treated back in the time before equality among all humans. The way this piece was created shows how harsh the conditions were. The sun is bright in the sky with no clouds, there are some plants but hardly any shadows, and the ground looks like hot sand or dirt. These people were forced to work out in the sun regardless of the conditions, and you can even tell through what clothing they are wearing that they were struggling. When looking at the people in this picture, you can tell that the artist did not put a lot of detail into the faces. I believe he did this intentionally because it shows that to the white people of the era, the people of color were nothing but work horses and that they didn’t even see a unique human being in each body. This piece is also emotionally touching because the people in this picture all look exhausted, yet they continue to work in misery. The two people in the foreground are stopping to take a break, and all three of the people have a slumped posture.

                The main reason the artist satisfies a viewer’s ethos is by creating his pieces by memory, his own stories, and his past experiences. The artist also has many other pieces, most of them based on social issues and other nonfictional ideas. He paints based on experience, not with creativity. This alone helps the viewer believe that he is an accredited artist. Some of his pieces are also similar to this one showing that he has many memories of the event. As these pieces are all fairly similar, we can trust that his work is truthful because his experiences all tell the same story.

I believe the idea of painting this piece was to show the injustice going on in the south from the perspective of a man who had been dealing with it for part of his life. It is persuasive because we know he is telling a story based on experience, and the story is emotionally touching. I also believe he was trying to show how strong people of color were during this era. In the piece it is obvious how hard of workers they were regardless of the circumstance.

                I am not a frequenter to museums, but I did enjoy my trip to the Palmer Museum of Art. I found that a lot of the pieces I saw were very interesting, and many were much more than just a painting. This was my first visit to Palmer, and I was actually surprised as to how big it was. I didn’t realize how many rooms and different places there were filled with artwork, and I ended up being there for longer than I thought I would. I enjoyed my trip to Palmer and I related to much more artwork than I expected.