My Art Lesson

When my husband, Richard and I discovered the work of the artist, Adam Himoff we knew we should connect with him. He created a powerful linocut image of a contemporary Frederick Douglass titled “Liberty.” An image depicting Douglass as incredibly empowered and self possessed. We were immediately taken by this image. In true Richard fashion he took it a step further and suggested we reach out to Adam to begin a dialog about turning the image into a mural. The mural would be installed on the brick wall of the row house next door to Out of the Fire. We were not prepared for the mixed reactions to the mural. It created quite a maelstrom of reactivity. As a result we had many meaningful and interesting conversations that led us to a greater understanding of understanding.

”Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.” A card with this quote was given to me by my friend, Kristina Henry. It is in a prominent place in my house. It rests by my sink in my bathroom.There is not a day that passes that I don’t read this quote. A quote attributed to American journalist Finley Peter Dunne who said , "Comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable" in reference to the role of newspapers in the 1890’s, which is ironically about the time that Frederick Douglass was being prolifically photographed for his important voice regarding the abolitionist movement. The quote is a sentiment about the role of art in society, expressing that it should provide solace to those who are suffering while simultaneously challenging and provoking those in positions of power and complacency. Richard and I have been the direct observers of how art can comfort and disturb when we made the choice to hang the mural. We thought the mural would spark dialogue and become a teaching inspiration as well as further shed a deserving light on this important historical figure. A person whose work and dedication to the advancement of Human Rights was unparalleled.

The mural did spark some intense and interesting conversations. It inspired a deeper learning experience for those who knew very little about such an important and inspiring historical influence. My favorite part of the mural was seeing young kids take a picture in front of the mural, which, in my hope led to research and a greater understanding of his immense impact on African American rights.

We recently changed the image on the wall to an image of Frederick Douglass that we discovered at the Library of Congress. Despite the speculation that we changed the image due to the controversy, we changed it because the image had taken a beating from the direct sun light causing it to fade. We had two of the “Liberty” murals printed and donated the other one to The Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore. An African American Museum whose Board was so taken by the image that they wanted to proudly hang it on an exterior wall of their museum.

Thank you to all of you who engaged in a dialog with us. May we continue to disturb and comfort each other.