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Visibility and Rhetoric: The Power of Visual Images in Norman Rockwell's Depictions of Civil Rights

2005; Routledge; Volume: 91; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/00335630500291448

1479-5779

Victoria J. Gallagher, Kenneth S. Zagacki,

Law in Society and Culture

This essay demonstrates how visual works of art may operate rhetorically to articulate public knowledge, to illustrate the moral challenges facing citizens, and to shape commemorative practices, through an analysis of Norman Rockwell's civil rights paintings of the 1960s. By examining the rhetorical aspects of these paintings, including their form and composition, the essay demonstrates the power of visual works of art to evoke common humanity in three significant ways: (1) disregarding established caricatures; (2) creating recognition of others through particularity; and (3) depicting material aspects of American society, thereby reminding viewers that abstract political concepts are always relative to the individuals or groups whose lives are most directly influenced by their presence or absence.