Those of us
who had read Shapiro's first book, the Art Forger, liked it better. We noted
that the ending of The Muralist was a chapter too long and the writing/dialogue
was pedantic - Eleanor Roosevelt wouldn't have spoken like that in the 40's. We
noticed that Shapiro did not cite her sources and that bothered us when we
wanted to know what was true or not.
1. The
Muralist exposes many facts about the situation in the United States before
World War II, including the denial of visas to qualified refugees, the majority
of the country’s opposition to entering the war, and the open discrimination
against Jews. Did you find any of this surprising? In the wake of the Allies’
victory, how has history generally portrayed this prewar period in America? Do
you think there are parallels to the United States in the twenty-first century?
- The more
things change, the more they stay the same.
2. The issue
of refugees running from war and oppression is as current today as it was
during World War II. What similarities and differences to do you see between
nations’ responses today and those before World War II? What about in attitudes
among U.S. citizens?
- We see the
parallels in keeping out refugees from the United States
3. The
author places Alizée, a fictional character, among the real-life artists who
created the Abstract Expressionist movement in New York in the 1940s. How did
living there at that time inform their art? What do you think makes Abstract
Expressionism a quintessential American form?
- Abstract
Expressionism is probably American, and so are the following:
- Musicals
are also American art forms (antithesis of everything French)
- So is Jazz
- So is
Tramp/Hobo art
- So is
Quilting
- So is Tap
dancing
4. Alizée
and her friends are employed by the Federal Art Project, a New Deal program
funded by the government to give work to artists. Do you think a government
program like this could happen in today’s political climate? How are art and
artists valued or supported differently in today's society?
- For some
of us it was new information
- Most
certainly this could and is happening today
5. In what
ways might artistic talent and mental illness be linked? Did you see
manifestations of a link in Alizée? How did that differ from the portrayals of
Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko?
6. Alizée
wants to believe that art can change the world. Does art have the power to
affect history? What are some examples that illustrate the transforming power
of art?
- You can’t
divorce art from culture
- You can’t
divorce art from politics
- Art as a
movie or song can put ideas out there and bring new ideas
7. Alizée
does something illegal in the hopes of thwarting a greater wrong. Do you agree
with what she does? Are there times when such decisions are justifiable? What
was her state of mind when she made the decision?
8. How much
do the times in which you live affect your individual life choices? How might
Alizée’s life have been different if she had lived in the twenty-first century?
Would her artistic dreams have been realized? How does Alizée’s artistic life
compare with that of her grandniece Danielle?
9. When
Danielle finds out the truth about what happened to her aunt, she seems able to
become the artist she was meant to be. Why? Which was more important: finding
the answer, or asking the question in the first place?
- For
Danielle, it was find the answer
- For
Alizée, it was asking the question
10. Were you
surprised at how Alizée’s life turned out? Relieved? How do you think Alizée
felt about it? How did her art define her life, even amid drastic change?
- The last
chapter seemed unreal
- The book
could have ended one chapter earlier
Artists we
discussed and/or who were in the book
MASS MoCA |
Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art
Helen
Frankenthaler
Sol Lewitt
Artist Nick
Cave Explores Racism and Police Brutality in his Massive...
Mark Rothko
Lee Krasner
Willem de
Kooning
Jackson
Pollock
Wassily
Kandinsky
Piet
Mondrian
“Text,
Reader, Poem”
- It’s a
different piece of art every time someone looks at it
- Art is
only art when there is a viewer
- the art,
the person who made it, and the person who is viewing it, all “read” it
differently
Movies about
Art (some we mentioned, some I researched)
Art School
Confidential – 2006
World to
Come – 2015
Woman in
Gold – 2015
Mona Lisa
Smile – 2003
Frida – 2002
Pollack –
2000
Mr Turner –
2014
Big Eyes –
2014
Tim’s
Vermeer – 2013
Edvard Munch
– 1974
Klimt – 2006
The Artist –
2011
Georgia
O’Keefe – 2009
Marina
Abramovich – 2012
Other movies
we mentioned
Rhinoceros –
becoming fascists