norman rockwell

Norman Rockwell was a very realistic and successful 20th century artist. His paintings were
recognized and loved by almost everyone in America. They captured reality and were almost
photographic in their representation. Rockwell also succeeds in having an aesthetic feel in his
paintings. Aesthetics is an appreciation of beauty. In all of his paintings, they can be appreciated
for the quality, beauty, and time put into them. A particular one of his pieces that he painted is
entitled, Boyhood Dreams. It entails a certain meaning that can relate to my cultural background.
Norman Rockwell was considered a reserved man, not given to grand gestures. He impressed
himself on America's collective imagination by his stubborn attachment to the old values. His
ability to relate these values to the events and circumstances of a rapidly changing world made
him a special person in ways both hero and friend to millions of his fellow citizens. His ability to
get the point across in one picture, and his style for painstaking detail made him a favorite of the
advertising industry. Rockwell helped preserve American myths, but, more than that, he recreated
them and made them appealing for new generations. His function was to reassure people, to
remind them of old values in times of rapid change.
One of Rockwell's pieces that stuck out amongst the rest is one of a young boy sitting on a fence in
a field watching a locomotive off in the distance. This painting is entitled, Boyhood Dreams,
which was painted in 1974 on an 18 x 18 size canvas. This was one of three painting in a series
that Rockwell painted called, Childhood Treasures. The main colors used on this piece are green,
gray, tan, blue, and darker shades of these colors. This genre painting demonstrates a various
number of techniques in artistry. For one Rockwell uses foreshortening. Foreshortening represents
space by adjusting objects that are closer, making them noticeably bigger. This is represented by
the little boy and his dog sitting on the fence, which is larger than the train, mountains, and town
in the background. This ultimately gives you a sense of distance between the boy and the objects
in the background. Also, kinetic lines are used in the painting. A kinetic line is a line that
incorporates actual movement. This is used where the smoke is coming out of the locomotive
while it is moving forward. The smoke is moving back but also in an upward motion, which
implies the train is moving forward. Another type of style is used in this painting. For example in
this painting, the train, mountains, and power lines become blurrier and do not appear as bright as
the objects in the front of the painting. This style used is referred to as atmospheric perspective.
This is a way of using color to achieve the illusion of depth in a two dimensional artwork. As
objects recede into the background they become blurrier, have lower color intensity, and have less

contrast. Rockwell used these techniques to achieve the great detail and beauty in this painting.
Boyhood Dreams' semiotics can relate to my cultural background in a way. When I was young, I
was infatuated with trains. As a matter of fact, I still am. Just the sound of a locomotive passing by
gave me goose bumps. The boy in this picture is staring off into the distance at the train passing by
wishing he could be on it, or better yet, driving it. I recall as a younger boy, I would sit by my
aunt's window in her apartment in the city just waiting for the next train to come whizzing by. Or
at my old pre-school, when we heard a train's horn blowing in the distance we would all go
running to the fence and watch in awe as it flew by us. That is why I chose this painting by
Norman Rockwell to relate to my cultural background because it shows how this boy can be taken
aghast by such a powerful machine.
Rockwell stated, "Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the
America I knew and observed to others who might not have noticed." Although Norman Rockwell
was always at odds with modern notions of what an artist should be, he chose to paint life as he
wanted to see it. His themes and unique style have passed the test of time making him one of the
best known and my personal favorite American artists.