# Was your art growing up racially/culturally divided? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606 "2012-04-22T17:42:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/21 "2012-04-22T23:32:42Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > I spent a summer in Ireland when I was 12 (in the 1970’s) and I saw the same grouping in more than one home I visited. I’m totally. . . surprised. Did you visit a lot of American blacks while you were there? ---
**Author:** ![Jasper\_Kent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9a28c/32.png) [@Jasper\_Kent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasper_Kent)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/22 "2012-04-22T23:36:14Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > But it seemed that, after a while, people tried to out big-eye the other[which led to paintings like this.](http://www.istanbul74.com/wp-content/themes/rockwell_v1.7.1/scripts/timthumb.php?src=http://www.istanbul74.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/Untitled-6.jpg&w=940&zc=1) Damn, those kids are scary! They creeped me out back then, and they still do now…maybe even more so now. And I thought \*everybody’s \*grandparents had various Jesus pictures in the house, whatever one’s color or ethnicity. Maybe it was a Southern thing. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/23 "2012-04-22T23:50:34Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I’m totally. . . surprised. Did you visit a lot of American blacks while you were there? I am assuming your surprise is about MLK, not Jesus or JFK… this is story isn’t isolated, see these links: [http://www.bogsideartists.com/recent-work.htm](http://www.bogsideartists.com/recent-work.htm) [http://mag.diddlyi.com/2011/01/martin-luther-kings-influence-on-the-irish/](http://mag.diddlyi.com/2011/01/martin-luther-kings-influence-on-the-irish/) There are others, e.g. [Frederick Douglass murals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frederick_Douglass_mural_on_the_%27Solidarity_Wall%27,_Belfast.jpg). Granted, most of this is in Northern Ireland, not the Republic. He might be seen as a kindred spirit in Nationalist communities. The other Martin Luther, not so much… ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/24 "2012-04-23T00:08:24Z")
I can’t say I remember these types of differences with artwork, other than a small tendency for the more-francophone (as opposed to anglphone or bilingual people I knew) households to have more Nordiques swag instead of Canadiens. Naturally, TV, music, theatre and movies were different based upon linguistic divides, though most francophones would be exposed to the English-language stuff (dubbed, in the case of TV and movies) while anglophones didn’t really see much French-language stuff unless they sought it out or a family member brought it into the home (my mom, in my case). Two solitudes. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/25 "2012-04-23T00:31:08Z")
The only Jesus I ever saw in more than one house (including mine) when I was growing up was [this one](http://www.lostseed.com/extras/free-graphics/images/jesus-pictures/jesus-face-painting.jpg). Most of my friends were suburban white kids, though. I think we had two black families in my hometown, though there were a lot of Latinos. I didn’t see the insides of very many people’s houses, though–we mostly played outside. ---
**Author:** ![missred](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/missred/32/14096_2.png) [@missred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/missred)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/26 "2012-04-23T01:31:29Z")
On the Protestant side of the family, they usually had the Jesus pic with the light brown, flowing hair and some kind of kitchen prayer for religious art. Other art was more on the lines of Norman Rockwell prints, embroidered samplers, TP coosies and pink flamingos between the petunias on the front lawn. On the Catholic side of the family, it was prints of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, JFK and statuettes of Mary, St. Francis of Asissi and St. Patrick. Black velvet paintings of JC in the Garden and Elvis and an elaborate cuckoo clock brought home from Germany from when one of my uncles was stationed there completed the decor indoors. Of course, there was a statue of Mary on the halfshell in the front yard. In our home, it was a mix of the two, along with art projects by us kids (even when we got older, because some of us sketched, carved and painted) and family pics. I grew up in a rural area that was roughly 99.9% white. The biggest ethnic differences were Catholic, mainstream Protestant and Charismatic. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/27 "2012-04-23T01:36:07Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > I am assuming your surprise is about MLK, not Jesus or JFK… this is story isn’t isolated, see these links: > > [http://www.bogsideartists.com/recent-work.htm](http://www.bogsideartists.com/recent-work.htm) > > [http://mag.diddlyi.com/2011/01/martin-luther-kings-influence-on-the-irish/](http://mag.diddlyi.com/2011/01/martin-luther-kings-influence-on-the-irish/) > > There are others, e.g. [Frederick Douglass murals](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Frederick_Douglass_mural_on_the_%27Solidarity_Wall%27,_Belfast.jpg). > > Granted, most of this is in Northern Ireland, not the Republic. He might be seen as a kindred spirit in Nationalist communities. The other Martin Luther, not so much… I’ve honestly never heard of anyone north or south having a pic of MLK on their wall. I’m sure there must be a few people who do/did have it but it’s not a thing. Sacred Heart paintings are still popular enough in Irish homes although often they’re displayed for kitsch value/nostalgia. The triumvirate I recall hearing about from back in the day was JFK, Jackie, and the Pope of the time. I don’t think citing murals is a good indicator of what was displayed inside people’s homes but I’m going to do further research on this, ask my older friends and family about it. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/28 "2012-04-23T02:37:17Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > [Giant Jesus Knocking on a Skyscraper](http://static.flickr.com/46/134764069_e1ccb99ee9_o.jpg). That thing always freaked me out. > [@Amasia](#): > > Wow, that is freaky. I think it’s supposed to be the UN. I’d love to know why it was painted. [Yes. It most definitely is the U.N.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_United_Nations_Building.jpg) My guess: the sentiment is that Jesus is guiding, or at least taking an interest in a path toward world peace. Or he needs one of the ambassadors to move their car out of a loading zone. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/29 "2012-04-23T03:23:54Z")
> [@Athena](#): > > But the one pic I really remember was hanging in my Grandparent’s house - [Giant Jesus Knocking on a Skyscraper](http://static.flickr.com/46/134764069_e1ccb99ee9_o.jpg). That thing always freaked me out. That looks more like Abraham Lincoln in his bathrobe. Grew up Polish Catholic in the Chicago suburbs and we didn’t have any religious art. My mom was big into horses so we had a bunch of [equestrian](http://prints.encore-editions.com/500/0/csh23-thoroughbred-mare-foal-from-1890-cassell-s-book-of-the-horse.jpg) [themed](http://prints.encore-editions.com/0/0/500/csh4-irish-hunter-from-1890-cassell-s-book-of-the-horse-framed.jpg?frame=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fee-staging%2Fthumbnails%2F36328%2F00479_framer.png&mask=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fee-staging%2Fthumbnails%2F36328%2F00479_frame_mask.png) [prints](http://prints.encore-editions.com/0/0/500/csh22-silton-a-hunter-from-1890-cassell-s-book-of-the-horse-framed.jpg?frame=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fee-staging%2Fthumbnails%2F36328%2F00479_framer.png&mask=https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Fee-staging%2Fthumbnails%2F36328%2F00479_frame_mask.png) like you’d see in the “library” of a country club and some assorted other nondescript art pieces. Not those exact prints but you get the idea. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/30 "2012-04-23T03:36:23Z")
I grew up in white mainstream Protestant family and, except for stuff that was put out for Christmas, none of the art on display in our house was religious. It was basically safely middle-brow Renoir and Van Gogh reproductions and landscape paintings. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 3:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/31 "2012-04-23T03:57:29Z")
> [@Biggirl](#): > > I’m totally. . . surprised. Did you visit a lot of American blacks while you were there? No, but I would describe the circle I moved around in as left-wing or liberal. Mostly university students and faculty. I was surprised to see MLK pictures, but if I recall correctly it was explained to me that the nationalist movement was a civil rights movement. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/32 "2012-04-23T04:17:15Z")
My mom (white/Catholic household) was an artist and we had lots of impressionist reproductions, Degas horses, Cezanne card players and the like. A few Picasso Blue Period and late Cubist paintings as well, and later, a bunch of her originals. No Black artists that I recall, and though I bought her some books about Frida Kahlo, nothing Latin either. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/33 "2012-04-23T11:36:52Z")
And for those who don’t know, there is surprisingly little religious art in homes in the Bible Belt (something Hollywood often gets wrong). Many Protestant faiths are opposed to religious iconography on principle, or at least sparing in its use. Too close to idolatry! ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606/34 "2012-04-24T03:14:27Z")
I grew up in a mixed faith (Catholic/Jewish) white household. My mother placed a crucifix, palm leaf (from Palm Sunday), and rosary combination on the wall in every bedroom, but other than that the decor was heavily Asian-inspired. Most of the wall artwork was Chinese watercolors done by a professional artist who was a friend of my parents. There was a sparing amount of Chinese vases in the living room (mainly because my mother hates to dust). I learned from my white friends when I was a little older that they and their families considered the interior style of our house odd: most of their homes were decorated with family photographs and “country kitsch.” In contrast to our Asian-style home, the homes of my actual Asian friends frequently had blank walls and (very puzzling to me) cheap toys displayed on shelves as if they were expensive knick-knacks. We’re talking McDonald’s toys and Barbies, here. Occasionally Buddha would be sitting amongst the anthropomorphic McNuggets. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-your-art-growing-up-racially-culturally-divided/619606.md?page=1)