I couldn’t tell you the last time I actively thought about Ernie Barnes before he died last week. It was likely a decade or more since then, but I grew up seeing part of the world though his eyes. Looking at his paintings now, I am struck by how much his vision jibes with my own, and given the fact that I would have been exposed to him at an impressionable age, I’m nearly positive this guy I couldn’t find in a crowd made a significant difference in my life.

Triple Play 35 [Listen Here] (Hosting issue sorted out and it’s on our server now!)

He shared with Edward Hopper a talent for finding people lost in something that can’t be spoken — a moment that can only be captured in a picture. If I were going to try to explain the expression on the face of the kid in “the Graduate” for example, by far the most effective way would be to actually show you the painting.

Another important aspect that can’t be overlooked is that his subjects are primarily African American. I shared schools in White Plains, New York with kids from the projects, but daily exposure does not equal understanding. I’m going to specifically try to avoid over thinking this, but there is no way to know how much I as an observer or bystander impact the scene happening all around me. This is particularly true with racial differences in the 1970s. Ernie Barnes’ paintings invite everyone to identify with the subjects. You are not judged for feeling kindred or different.

It is this sense of inclusiveness with uncompromising truthfulness that gave Barnes’ his unique combination of accessibility and importance. His death gives a perfect opportunity to admit how much we needed a guy like him to come along, and admit that we still need his pictures despite the sense of progress we feel in racial issues.

Songs featured this week are:

Pearl Jam – “All Those Yesterdays”
Dr. Dog – “The Breeze”
Andrew Bird – “Not a Robot, But a Ghost”

Last 5 posts by Greg Wind

• Triple Play 34: Wait, Wait -- OK, Go Ahead - April 28th, 2009
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• Beating the Drum -- From the "We Told You So Department" - April 23rd, 2008
• Between the Notes: April 19 is Record Store Day! - April 17th, 2008