Year of origin: 1963
Norman Rockwell - The Problem We All Live With
The painting depicts Ruby Bridges a young six-year-old African- American girl walking with a few materials tightly clutched in her hand. In the upper right corner “KKK” is written and also above her head the vulgar term “nigger”. These things written on the wall make you wonder why would students damage their own school, but by writing “nigger”. They were expecting her, but it looks so worn or even as if it was rapidly rubbed at before Ruby’s arrival. Otherwise time took it claim at weathering the wall. After all who would clean the wall before she came to the school.
As I look to the rest of this painting I notice the thrown and splattered tomato which gives me a sense that Ruby is finally beginning to feel as if they don’t want her at the school. Also I see the Deputy US Marshals who are surrounding her to bring her to school safely.
I am absolutely stunned by the message this painting communicates portraying an icon during a time of unrest, violence, and injustice. It speaks for itself. I can only imagine the pristine innocence of Ruby and how she was exposed to racism and segregation. Without a clue what was really happening. She just wanted to learn. I can see It really idolizes and shows you the treatment towards a race committed for thousands of years to different races alike, but the horrors of segregation in the deep South we will remember forever.
I think the artist’s intention was to advocate for the cause of civil rights and to capture these moments of history forever and making them timeless. He wanted to speak for all the tortured souls and grieving families. I think he also wanted to reach out to the world and show it the true hostility of segregation.
The perspective of this painting is of the person watching her walk by and of who threw the tomato. The colors are interesting and neutral. The red of the tomato draws your eyes first in its direction, but immediately after your eyes fall on Ruby with her vacant, yet determined expression and white dress. Which might have been chosen by the artist as a color symbolic of peace and non-violence. The red splattered on the wall makes me think of all the blood shed from a people in order to gain respect an equality for their race as a whole. I also find that the marshals seem so big in proportion to ruby because their heads aren’t in the picture.
To Ruby I think this is to represent the loneliness, fear, and solitude that she felt while walking with strangers to a new and strange place. Which would be her place of growth and learning to later become a icon of the Civil Rights Movement.
