HUMOR

Walton FordBorn 1960 New York, U.S.

Many stories in history are sad or tragic. Artists sometimes choose to use humor or satire to redefine the

stories they’re telling.

Walton Ford in his studio

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Blending depictions of natural history with political commentary, Ford’s meticulous paintings satirize the history of colonialism and the continuing impact of slavery and other forms of political oppression on today’s social and environmental landscape. Each painting is as much a tutorial in flora and fauna as it is a scathing indictment of the wrongs committed by nineteenth-century industrialists or — locating the work in the present—contemporary American consumer society.

An enthusiast of the watercolors of John James Audubon, Ford celebrates the myth surrounding the renowned naturalist-painter while simultaneously repositioning him as an infamous anti-hero—who, in reality, killed more animals than he ever painted. Each of Ford’s animal portraits doubles as a complex, symbolic system, which the artist layers with clues, jokes, and erudite lessons in colonial literature and folktales.

John James AudubonBlue Heron Illustration

DISCUSS:•What is humor? •What are the differences between sarcasm and satire?

•Are there limits to humor?

•What are the implications of using satire or sarcasm regarding subjects such as poverty, homelessness, and racial or cultural diversity?

•Can humor be hurtful?

Walton Ford"A Cabin Boy to Barbary," 2000Watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 61 x 120 inches

“They are like gigantic pages from journals. They don’t make any sense. The early natural history artists used to carry little sketchbooks with them. I’ve taken the exact techniques and the exact kind of paper and calligraphy that they used and made this enormous version that makes no sense. There would be no reason for a natural history study that was ten feet by five feet. But that is one of the things I was interested in doing. Taking small bits of history and magnifying them."

KEY WORDS AND IDEAS:

1. Satire. Exposing human vices to ridicule or scorn.

2. Sarcasm. A sharp, bitter expression; a taunt conveying something opposite to what is meant.

3. Allegory. A visual device in which characters or events in the artwork represent or symbolize ideas and concept

4. Symbolism. Something that stands or represents something else.

Walton Ford“The Orientalist”Watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 60 x 40 inches

"I have an ongoing project that has to do with Sir Richard Burton, the nineteenth-century explorer. One of the stories that stuck with me was about monkeys that he kept in his quarters when he was a young officer...The thing about this monkey picture is Richard Burton is keeping forty monkeys in his quarters when he’s a young officer to learn their language. There’s something just right away that strikes me as humorous in the quintessentially super-eccentric British way and their mode of building an empire which was carried out by these kinds of eccentrics"

Walton Ford. “The Forsaken” 1999watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 60 x 40 inches

"When I painted the monkey wife, I painted her individually and I named it ‘The Forsaken.’ And my idea is that what Richard Burton did as part of his colonial enterprise was to actually learn languages. When he would go to a new place...he would have a woman set up house for him and become his mistress. And he said he would learn the language that way. So this thing with the monkey wife seemed to be perverse once you know that about him."

DISCUSS

What is the difference between making an artwork that pokes fun at oneself and one’s personal issues, and making fun of other people or issues not related to one’s personal experience? How might the featured artists’ ways of addressing humor relate to those differences?

Walton Ford"Falling Bough," 2002Watercolor, gouache, ink and pencil on paper, 60 3/4 x 119 1/2 inches

"The passenger pigeons were the most numerous birds that ever lived in the history of the planet. It’s almost disturbing how numerous- billions upon billions of birds. It was a fecundity that was almost disgusting. I started thinking about a blame-the-victim kind of attitude you could take to that...to make it seem like they had it coming, that there was this disgusting empire of birds and that it was corrupt like Rome...that it was bound to fall. So I invest the passenger pigeons with every kind of sin that I can imagine. And the bough, this gigantic branch, is falling under their tremendous weight. Meanwhile they go about their bickering and their lusts and foibles and all the disgusting things that they are doing."

Walton Ford“Nila” 1999-2000, watercolor, gouache, ink, and pencil on paper, 144 x 216 inches

The elephant marches along happily with a large erection. Birds cover the beast, but they are not the ox-peckers that normally eat the ticks from elephants’ skin; these birds are from the west. There are starlings, nightingales, and many others. Two birds mate on the end of the elephant’s penis. Perhaps the elephant symbolizes India or Africa. The western birds, of course, are swarming and parasitic.

Walton Ford“An Encounter with Du Chaillu” 2009, watercolor, gouache, pencil, and ink on paper, 95 1/2 x 60 inches

This piece makes a reference to the 19th century anthropologist Paul du Chaillu who claimed to be the first white man to see the gorillas of central Africa and return to tell the story. And he loved to tell – and apparently embellish – the story. At a New York church in 1875, he spoke of adventures among African cannibals and hunting gorillas. “On the third day he came in sight of a huge warrior gorilla, who was gnashing his teeth in rage as he was endeavoring to tear down a tree covered with berries,” Du Chaillu shot him through the heart, and the creature fell dead with a human-like growl.

In Ford’s painting, a gorilla stands on its two legs and presses the end of a rifle barrel against his tongue as if tasting it. The gun is bent and the butt is bloody. Then you notice that among the ferns at the ape’s feet, lay the battered legs of a person. It’s not clear just what has happened, but the title suggests that this time the gorilla won.

Walton Ford“Dying Words” 2005. Hard ground etching, aquatint, spit bite aquatint, dry point, scraping and burnishing on paper.

Now extinct, Carolina Parakeets were the only indigenous parrot of the Eastern United States. Many factors contributed towards their demise, including: loss of habitat, their plumage was used to decorate women’s hats and finally farmers shot and poisoned them in enormous numbers because they considered them pests.

DISCUSS•Discuss how Ford’s work touches on elements of humor and in what ways?

•What ways might Walton Ford or any other artist alter a viewer’s impression of history? •Discuss why some people might not consider some of Ford’s work humorous.

•What is the difference between making an artwork that pokes fun at oneself and one’s personal issues, and making fun of other people or issues not related to one’s personal experience?

•Why would an artist choose to depict an unrealistic subject matter using realistic devices.

Play video.

PROJECT:In the work “Nila”, Ford uses a symbolist system where starlings bearing down on the elephant represent the Western tourist; the goldfinches who are working to plant flowers are Peace Corps volunteers; and the woodpecker is the Westerner who goes to India to shop. RESEARCH:

In your sketchbooks, research a historical topic or event of special interest to you. Include ample details describing your topic. The content of your research should include text and images.

PROJECT:You are going to create an image, which contains your own symbolist system. This image must be based in history.

For whom will you create this piece, and what will your symbols be? Consider choosing a subject matter that is simultaneously attractive and repulsive.

MATERIALS:

•Sketchbook•18 x 24 inch watercolor or canvas paper•Watercolor or acrylic paint•Pencils•Erasers•Brushes