I'm not sure I'd agree with some of the comments attributed to the original article that white marble preference in classical art has a racist basis, but as an artist I know full well that imagery affects perception.
This strikes close to home for me. When one of my grandparents came to America, he faced a lot of prejudice for his Mediterranean looks. That Western civilization was founded by people who looked like him (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc.) seems to have escaped the early education of the people running Ellis Island.
And don't forget the effect of blond, blue-eyed Jesus. If he really had looked that way, the locals could have saved that 30 pieces of silver because he would not have been hard to spot.
I'm not sure I'd agree with some of the comments attributed to the original article that white marble preference in classical art has a racist basis, but as an artist I know full well that imagery affects perception.
ReplyDeleteThis strikes close to home for me. When one of my grandparents came to America, he faced a lot of prejudice for his Mediterranean looks. That Western civilization was founded by people who looked like him (Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, etc.) seems to have escaped the early education of the people running Ellis Island.
And don't forget the effect of blond, blue-eyed Jesus. If he really had looked that way, the locals could have saved that 30 pieces of silver because he would not have been hard to spot.