On November 13th, we went to visit the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). I was particularly interested in the Charles White: A Retrospective exhibition, and the piece I chose was Native Son #2 which White had inked on paper in 1942. It was inspired by a book written by Richard Wright, who was a friend of White, and depicts the novel’s protagonist. The man he drew stands alone, allowing viewers to visualize exactly what White wanted to be seen.
When I first observed the work, I was drawn to its precision and detail. For example, the disproportions of the image in the arms and hands compared to the rest of the body depicted the strength of the black man. He is busting out of his shirt, which is fully ripped down the middle, torn in the shoulder, with the sleeves coming apart at the seams. The shirt, which is supposed to constrain him, simply can’t. However, the look on the man’s face tells a very different narrative. White drew a facial expression that doesn’t convey the confidence associated with that kind of strength, but rather one of fear or anxiousness. Native Son #2 depicted how dislocated our society was back then, as reflected in the broken piece of wood in the man’s hand, by showing the inhumanity of restricting a person’s individuality simply because of the color of their skin.
I really enjoyed this particular exhibition at MoMA. Usually, I go visit the museum to see the renowned paintings, like Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, and I hadn’t heard of Charles White prior to this visit. However, I found myself appreciating his stylistic choices, from the distant facial expressions to the defined muscles representing the strength of an oppressed people.
