Must we conform to the stereotypes and overall norms presented to us by the rest of society? Detroit native Mario Moore does not believe so. Receiving an MFA in Painting from Yale University, Moore does not paint based on what history has taught us about the human condition. Rather, he paints based on a mirror image of what history portrays and thus creates a picture that makes one consider the what-ifs of past pains as well as the possibility of a more dramatic shift that can occur in the future.
“Queen Mother Helen Moore” is one of Moore’s most iconic pieces. It depicts an old grandmother comfortably (and possibly triumphantly) holding pictures of her three sons. Now, in a normal society, Moore believes that one would think that the grandmother is holding up the pictures of her sons due to the fact that they lost their lives in some sort of violence (considering the times that we, unfortunately, live in, police brutality is one of the first things that will pop into anyone’s mind). Yet, Moore makes his grandmother seem powerful in the painting to show the pride that she is exhibiting for her three sons. Could this be drawn in an alternate universe where they overcame such brutality and adversity in a society filled with so many obstacles for minorities? Why did I automatically assume it must be an alternative universe? Why can’t this simply be the future…a new version of the future thanks to fighting for rights that are currently occurring throughout America in the present? Maybe that is what Moore is trying to get people like me to start thinking about…and from these thoughts create our own version of a beautiful future that we can all coexist in.
Moore uses the antithesis of history in order to get his audience to truly think about the right way to write history. From here, we can eventually come to the realization that even though there is no perfect future nor a perfect way to view the past, we can all think. And from these thoughts, we can come to a realization of a fair future, one where any action throughout history whether it be a proud grandmother or a black man resting during the Civil Rights Era, makes sense in one form or another. Until that occurs, we are not thinking hard enough and simply accepting society for what it is giving us-a broken mural of brainwashed stereotypes.
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