Michael Ray Charles Forever Free Painting - Admission/Application Essay Example

? Michael Ray Charles 'Forever Free' Painting About the Artist Michael Ray Charles was born in 1967 and he lives in St. Martinsville, Louisiana. He spent most of his life drawing and created beautiful paintings with a hidden meaning in them for the society. Besides being a creative artist, he was also a talented basketball player.He completed his masters in fine arts from university of Houston in 1990 and his main work covered areas regarding African American stereotypes and the racial problems faced by the African Americans. 2. About the painting The painting consists of a black head in the middle and in the background; we can see two hands, one black and the other white coming out of two different house windows. The facial expression of the face drawn in the middle shows a big smile and a feeling of satisfaction in the eyes of that black man.There are two white bones drawn right at the back of his head. The title of this painting is “Hello I am your neighbor shows that someone just moved to a new neighborhood. 3. Idea behind this Painting. The title of the painting by Michael Ray Charles is “(Forever Free) Hello I’m Your New Neighbor” was printed in1997. Through this painting, the artist has tried to convey a society based problem of racism that has been prevailing since centuries. Many books have been written regarding the difficulties African Americans face in their daily lives regarding their race. I believe the artist has used his creative thinking to deliver a message in this context through his painting. By reflecting his thoughts and imagination through bright colors and a scenario on a piece of paper, he tries to give a hidden message that targets the society as a whole. In this picture, the artist is trying to portray how an African-American is being discriminated by whites. The two hands coming out of the windows at the back reflect a meaning of new relation or formal interaction between the black and the white. The painter has tried to raise the social issue due to his keen involvement in Civil Rights Movement. He was very sensitive towards the issues of discrimination and biasness that the society had for African-Americans. His painting gave a new meaning to the social status of African-American community in the American society. He was a strong supporter of granting equal rights to the blacks regardless of their color, race and beliefs. His painting, “Forever free” pins the idea that every individual has the right to be free and to enjoy his freedom in an organized social sphere. Michael Ray Charles has selected the most controversial topic of his times to point out the flaws in an American Society which many people believed that American society extends a friendly attitude towards all the people despite their races and colors but, through his paintings, Michael Ray Charles exposed the bitter realities and truth of the American society that how they behave towards other races especially towards the African-American. Through his paintings, he has tried to be the part of the African-American struggle who were in search of their lost identity and social status. From the title of the painting and the big black face drawn in the front, it seems like the African American just moved to a new neighborhood and is greeted by a white who is his neighbor.This I judged by the big friendly smile on his face. If you see closely, and try to describe this smile, it shows a feeling of achievement, a new start with hopes for a happy and better future. However the two bones drawn at the back reflect a sign of danger or back luck for the black man. As the bones are behind this head, I take that as a hint given by the artist that the man is unaware of this upcoming danger. He believes life is a good place now where he can finally breathe freely. By observing this painting, I think the black man feels satisfied and welcomed by the white man in this new neighborhood. He feels respected as he is being properly greeted by him. But the reality is still harsh to accept. Through his painting, the artist has tried to bridge the gap between the whites and the blacks. He was a believer of social equality for all the races without discriminating the rights of anyone of them and, this is what has been the most controversial subject of all his paintings. The two bones show that he won’t be able to live in peace here because for his white neighbor it’s just a formal shake handas shown in the painting, not a bond of new friendship which is based on loyalty, equality and respect. It’s a formality that is being fulfilled just to show that the white man cares when deep inside this black mean is not important to him. On a broad level, think of the neighborhood as our world. Even in our daily lives this message can be applied. We call ourselves liberal, open minded and equal. Still racial discriminations are observed in every part of the world. In this age of modernism and advancement, we are still living in a world where races and colors matter most to us. We think of ourselves as well educated, groomed personalities, when we still judge the next person by the race and color. Technology has reshaped this world; however it’s a shame that at most of the parts of this world, and it still failed to change our thinking. Still blacks are not given the basic human rights and respect they deserve. They are still treated as minorities with little rights and less privileges. We meet them, spend time with them, work with them but look around yourself, do you really think they are given the freedom and place in this world that they deserve or we still consider them a human race with no values or rights of being appreciated for who they are. References James H (2002): Pioneer in the Study of Ancient Egyptian History I’m a Soporific.[online]. Available at: http://piccionep.people.cofc.edu/graphics/samplepaper2.pdf. Accessed on [29 May 2012] Read More