Don't Judge a Canvas by it's Color by Sara Rosenberg

Don't Judge a Canvas by it's Color by Sara Rosenberg

White by Glenn Ligon

            While the entirety of the exhibits at the Wadsworth Museum in Connecticut, MA, are impressive, one piece of contemporary artwork in particular manages to speak volumes about the race issues that continue to exist in modern-day life, in a subtle yet moving manner.  “White” by Glenn Ligon appears to be simply a large canvas painted black and mounted on the museum wall.  However, as you approach the painting small bumps begin to appear across the canvas, and upon further inspection it becomes clear that these supposed “bumps” are actually words that have been printed into the canvas.  The piece contains words of wisdom from Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison, a novel dealing with the issue of race pertaining to African-Americans in the twentieth century.  The composition of the piece, if understood in its truest manner, is alarmingly effective on multiple different levels.

            When first approaching the piece, it seems blank, almost pointless, but once the viewer realizes the content of the piece they come to appreciate the deeper meaning and message of the piece, and that the words are moving and intelligible.  Most people would probably walk right by this piece of work because it seems simple and meaningless, and those people miss out on a huge learning experience.  Ligon does an impressive job of making the viewer realize that many black people in America feel this same way—they feel as if they are looked over, or seen as “pointless” or unintelligent simply because they are black.  However, “White” makes it clear that just because you can’t see the wisdom in something right away, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.  Ligon drives home the point that sometimes you just have to get closer to someone, or something—such as his artwork—to be able to see the intelligence and personality hidden beneath the surface.

detail of White by Glenn Ligon

            An interesting choice that Ligon made with this piece was the name; the piece, of course, is entirely black, yet the name is “White.”  The colors black and white are, of course, opposites, but more than that if the colors are looked at scientifically, there is an even deeper meaning.  In terms of light and the three “colors” of light that the eye can see—red, blue, and green—white is a combination of all three, while black is the absence of the three.  The piece itself is black, or the absence of color, which represents the fact that race really doesn’t matter when we are all human when it comes down to it.  Through naming the piece “White,” Ligon reinforces the idea that race does not matter by titling the piece with the color that appears when the human eye registers all wavelengths of light at once.  The artist compels the viewer to think about the importance race plays in how we react to others through contrasting the name of the piece with the actual color of it.

By featuring both black and white in the piece, Ligon drives home the idea that the outer appearance of a person is not the most important thing about them, and that we as a society should not judge people based on their appearances without getting close to them and getting the full picture.