Art Activity: "It's Beauty, It's Pain, It's America"

As we walked through the exibit last Thursday afternoon, I hoped I could find something that, in my eyes, truly defined America...and I found it. A work of art by Joseph Piccillo, created in 1982, was made on lithograph of a horse. But this was no ordinary horse--this horse was in pain, just as America is continuously. Whether it be the Civil War, World War I or II, the Veitnam War, or even the War in Iraq, America is constanly being beat down more and more. The expression on the horse's face depicts this sort of ongoing suffering, and the bent legs signify the fact that the horse is still running...never giving up. America is this way as well...no matter what happens, we keep on pushing through; we fight until the end.

Not only did the horse look sad, but it had an unusual amount of veins reaching to the surface of its belly. This could mean that it was pushing itself so hard it's veins came up just as a bodybuiler's does when he pushes himself to complete physical exertion. America, once again, does the same.

The tail of this horse, in addition, shows no movement--it's straight as a board. That is unusual for a horse, in fact, a horse's tail would never be that straight. I believe this demonstrates how stiff America has become with a variety of situations. We prove ourselves to be uptight at times, too focused to have fun and let loose, and even unwelcoming to others. All of these, and many more, could help describe this odd addition.

The black background of this piece I believe to have a few things it signifies. For one, the darkness (or sadness) that surrounds those who push themselves too hard. If not this, then possibly just the fact that we Americans have a hard time focusing on one thing at a time. By adding a black background, it forces us as observers to analyse just the horse, and leave the other factors (as in, why the horse is so exhausted and beat down) to our own imagination. However, if I could ask the artist one question about this piece of art, that would be it.


As powerful as this piece may be, it seems to leave a very large gap in it's depiction of America--the worldwide pandemic known as laziness. Millions of Americans have been perscribed with this awful disease in the last twenty or so years. That being said, it makes sense that he would leave that out because it was made over 20 years ago. If this piece were made more recently, I'm not quite sure it would be the same, because it has become more and more common for people to let themselves and everything around them go just out of pure laziness.

This piece brings numerous other pieces of literature to mind. For one, the presentation that Elise gave about Seabiscuit. She defined America through the spirit of Seabiscuit (or the lack there of). She showed just how beaten down the horse was, but with the right training, it could be great. I too beleive that this picture is trying to show that. Us as Americans are tired, worn out, and in dire need of a break at times. Also, this picture brings to mind Thomas Paine's essay "Common Sense". In that he describes his frustrations with Britain. I believe that if the horse in that picture could speak, it would say something along those lines, except about America.

Conclusively, this piece has undoubtedly had a great affect on the way I view America, and I know that many others can see what I see in this piece of art. It's beauty, it's pain, it's America.