Benny Andrews' Cotton Choppers - 1965

The piece of art I selected to blog about after visiting the Palmer Art Museum was Cotton Choppers(1965). It was created by the artist of Benny Andrews. Andrews used oil pastels to create the drawing. There are three people in the painting, a man in the front center, a woman located on the right side of the painting, and another humanlike figure towards the back of the canvas, but is too small and undetailed to be determined as a man or woman. The man is wearing overalls, and the identifiable woman appears to be wearing something that looks like a purple dress or blouse. All the persons drawn in the painting are holding a device that chops cotton. The setting is in a cotton field. The ground is desert sand or dust, and there are rows of cotton plants. It is during the day time. There seems to be no historical significance at the time of when the painting was drawn that connects to what is drawn in the painting, but the time period that reflects the painting is most likely around the time of slavery. There is no conversation going on in the picture. The piece of art has credibility because the artist, Benny Andrews, was an African American who was one of 10 children of sharecroppers raised in Georgia while it was still segregated. He experienced first hand what sharecropping was like. Andrews made collages, paintings, and print makings. I think the claim that the artist is making is that sharecropping was very tiring, but needed to be done during the time period in which sharecropping took place. The man in the center of the painting seems to be taking a break from doing his job. He looks very physically and mentally drained. My overall experience at the time Palmer Museum of Art was alright. I do not like art very much, probably because I am not a good artist myself. There were some things that looked interesting, but no offense to the people who really enjoy art, I just don't get any satisfaction with staring at pictures that had impact on my life. I will probably not return to the Palmer by choice, but I'm happy I got to see the inside of the museum at least one during my time here at Penn State.