A Favorite Painting

Jack Levine, Feast of Pure Reason 1937

I love artwork that marries politics and satire, and this painting by Jack Levine accomplishes that with notable flair. Levine passed away yesterday, and I saw the obituary in the New York Times this morning, which sparked my memory of this image. He was one of that school of artists that I count among my favorites: the urban regionalists of the 1930s, whose ranks also include the likes of Ben Shahn, William Gropper and Reginald Marsh. As Levine does here, each of them offered sharp commentaries on the often messy nature of American political and social conventions, made all the more evident by the effects of depression. Levine's depiction of the relaxed power represented by a cop, a political boss, and a fat cat capitalist can't help but raise the question of whose interests could possibly be served by their nonchalant air of assumed privilege (check out the fancy cut glass decanter of some no-doubt well-aged spirits)-- and it's hard to imagine any but their own being considered. It's a valid critique of our system, and a persistent one through our history, to recognize-- as Levine does here-- the potential for democracy to become twisted by those who redefine freedom as license, though generally only for themselves. But the painting also represents the potential to push back, to call the hypocrites on their nonsense, and Levine deserves to be remembered for answering that call and creating something that resonates even decades after he made this picture.