People Learn to Read - GINGER MEEK ALLEN metalsmith

Reading The Key Essay 2 of 17

The People Learn to Read

MIXED MEDIA ON CANVAS, 24 X 48 INCHES
ACRYLIC, INK, GESSO, 1949 WORLD HISTORY TEXTBOOK, 1956 BEGINNING DICTIONARY, NIV BIBLE, 1946 MUSIC HORIZONS TEXTBOOK

With its intense hues and cruciform composition, “The People Learn to Read” explores the power of the written word to affect collective thought.

“The People Learn to Read” includes several pages from a 1949 world history textbook, a 1946 music textbook, and a page from The Bible. The history textbook pages explore academic presentations of the rise of Nazi power, the homecomings of broken soldiers, the challenges of disarmament, and the impact of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto, Mein Kempf.

Also included are textbook pages discussing a 16th century list, Index of Prohibited Books, issued by the Pope in an effort to insulate Catholics from heretical thought. In the midst of this is a section from the history textbook about the growth of literacy, the printing of more books and the development of more libraries. All of this “raised the general level of intelligence … bringing knowledge within the reach of all.”

Coupled with the growth of newspapers and magazines, and the development of other media – radio, television, film – people for the first time saw actual combat and learned of historical developments sooner and in more detail than ever before. The human consciousness changed.

The cruciform composition, though aesthetically resolved, creates a sense of angst and conflict. There is a large painted key at the focal point, which features tones of bronze and silver, and nestled nearby is a page from the gospel of Luke, words of Jesus in red. “Peace be with you.”