Artist Presentation: Philip Guston

Artist Presentation: Philip Guston
One of the most evocative and fascinating genres of art has been the visual arts. History is replete with classical visual artists who won legendary status through their works. Their enormous contribution to the world of art has earned them special places in the annals of history. One such artist is Philip Guston, born in 1913 in Montreal, Canada. However, his family moved to Los Angeles when he was six years old, where he grew up. As a young boy, Guston had a remarkably precocious mind, and his intellect was way beyond his age (Ashton, 1990). That being the case, he began drawing seriously at the tender age of twelve. Guston died in 1980 at age 67 (Selvin, 2020). His illustrious career spanned more than five decades. 
Guston plunged into the artistry arena when the world faced all manner of political upheavals and turmoil. Such globally significant events as the Russian revolution played a pivotal role in forming his artistic mind. The revolution, for instance, inspired Guston to orchestrate a revolution of sorts in Manual Arts School. He, alongside Pollock, was disenchanted with conditions in the school. This prompted them to do satirical drawings to express their displeasure (Ashton, 1990). Consequently, their boldness landed them into trouble as they were expelled.
Guston’s first painting was in 1930, when he was only seventeen, and he named it Mother and Child. The masterpiece depicts a mother washing her child in a simple-looking bathtub. It expressed his fascination with the simple things in life that surrounded him (Ashton, 1990). In addition, during those formative years as an artist, African Americans were subjected to untold historical injustices and atrocities. Several groups, such as Ku Klux Clan, perpetrated the atrocities. Guston viciously opposed their heinous activities, which subsequently influenced him to do such works as Conspirators (1930) [Ashton, 1990]. Conspirators depicted a collected group of hooded people. His contemporaries identified them as members of the dreaded Ku Klux clan. He also did a mural that showed members of the group whipping a roped black man. Such works chagrined the groups so much that they resolved to retaliate by destroying some of the drawings. However, Guston was not one...