The Kids Are Alright

2016? With the exception of my family, friends, and Bernie(!), it was a frequently trying year. What else do you say about a year where Gen X-ers like myself lost such cultural icons as Bowie, Prince, Mohammad Ali, George Michael, and Carrie Fisher, and can look forward to being Trump-ed in the new year? Makes you want to turn the lights out and pull the covers up for a looong nap.

Photo: Jeremy Clowe

There were, however, a couple projects that I was involved with this year that raised my spirits. They involved the next generation - Millennials and Generation Z, if you will.

Last February I spent some time working from home in New York's Capital Region, and decided to document a group of local high school students who were busy preparing work for an exhibition reinterpreting President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Four Freedoms (which celebrated its 75th anniversary this year). The show was to be presented at Norman Rockwell Museum, where we own and display Norman Rockwell's original 1943 paintings that famously interpret Roosevelt's speech. It sounded like an interesting project, and I was curious to see what freedom meant to young people in the 21st Century.

"Freedom of Speech," one of FDR's original ideals, was perhaps the most popular, and was interpreted in some interesting ways--as a form of protest; in being able to express yourself through dress, music, or the visual arts; and speaking up for your rights as a young person. The other freedoms (want, religion, and fear) were less frequently illustrated, with these studio art students deciding to expand on the original concept.

Not surprisingly, one of the biggest concerns was privacy--in this day of social media and smart phones, young people had mixed feelings about the freedom to share information, but also the need for it to stay protected. Others addressed the idea of equality for people of all genders, races, and sexual identities. I enjoyed working with and finding the common threads between the three schools that I visited, and telling the students' story; several were looking at issues that seemed far beyond the typical high school concerns. The students pleasantly surprised me with their generally polite and thoughtful nature.

From there, I helped the Museum cover a number of other interesting education initiatives during 2016. One of the most unique was a group of students we had been working with from Edward A. Reynolds High School in New York City, who learned that Norman Rockwell was born just a few blocks from their school (206 West 103rd Street). After learning more about the artist and how he illustrated humanitarian themes right through and including the civil rights era, they decided to form a committee to see about renaming the corner near Rockwell's birthplace (West 103rd and Broadway) in the artist's name. On Election Day, November 4, 2014, the students canvassed voters at their school, a polling location, and picked up 300 signatures in favor of the idea.

Civics - the Norman Rockwell way.

With support from the Museum, the effort became a useful lesson in civics for the students, involving them directly in the political process. In February 2016, New York's City Council voted to officially rename the corner, and a special signing ceremony, officiated by Mayor Bill de Blasio, was held at New York's City Hall on February 25-- I was on hand to film the occasion, as well as the official unveiling of "Norman Rockwell Place," which took place on June 9, with City dignitaries, Museum officials, Rockwell family members, and fans in attendance. It was a meaningful day, and I was again impressed by the perspective and determination of these young people.

This past June we held our annual gala, which celebrated our education efforts. Former First Lady Laura Bush, who was an educator, was on hand, as well as children's book illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who was honored as our new Artist Laureate (I had previously interviewed and created a video for our 2009 exhibition of Pinkney's work). The night of the gala we also premiered a video I created to highlight several of our education initiatives, including the Four Freedoms and New York City student efforts. Again, I found it be an involved project, sorting through tons of footage to find the through line to tell an effective story. However, all the work paid off and the video was quite well-received, helping us raise considerable new funds to continue our education efforts.

As I mentioned, it was a trying year... easy to get discouraged... but thinking back about these projects and talented teens I met along the way, I continue to find hope for the future. 

Reimagining The Four Freedoms exhibition photos- NRM Facebook

Freedom For A New Generation - photos by JC- NRM Facebook

"Manhattan Street is Renamed After Norman Rockwell," New York Times, June 8, 2016