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IRVING NORMAN (1906-1989)

 
Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind. Irving Norman's masterpiece, "The Human Condition," from 1980, draws upon the artist's lifetime of acquired experiences and knowledge. Surviving as a volunteer fighter during the Spanish Civil War, the artist returned to the United States after the loyalist defeat. Upon his return, fervent studio practice in Half Moon Bay, California, would become his life's devotion.  <br><br>The present work, a nearly 16-foot-wide triptych, is reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch's triptych, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," c. 1510.  The dystopian vision portrayed in 'The Human Condition" is a warning - a lesson from the European dictatorships Norman experienced firsthand during the 1930s.   Disturbing tableaus show the darkness of humanity and the evil that can rise to prominence when humanity is at its worst.  There is hope, however, in the experience of the viewer: Norman thought of his audience as the greatest hope for humankind.
La condición humana1980-1981120 x 182 pulg.(304,8 x 462,28 cm) óleo sobre lienzo
Procedencia
Museo de Arte Crocker, Sacramento
Exposición
1986 Museo Alternativo, Nueva York
2002 Colegio de Santa Mónica
2006 Museo de Arte Crocker, Sacramento
2007 Museo de Arte de California de Pasadena
2007 Museo de Arte Nora Eccles Harrison de la Universidad Estatal de Utah
2007 Museo Katzen de la American University, Washington, D.C.
Literatura
Dark Metropolis: Irving Norman's Social Surrealism, Ed. Scott A. Shields y Ray Day (Sacramento y Berkeley: The Crocker Art Museum y Heyday Books, 2006), pág. 199
La obra maestra de Irving Norman, "La Condición Humana", de 1980, se basa en la vida del artista de experiencias y conocimientos adquiridos. Sobreviviendo como combatiente voluntario durante la Guerra Civil Española, el artista regresó a los Estados Unidos después de la derrota de los lealistas. A su regreso, la ferviente práctica en el estudio de Half Moon Bay, California, se convertiría en la devoción de su vida.

La presente obra, un tríptico de casi 16 pies de ancho, recuerda al tríptico de Hieronymus Bosch, "El Jardín de las Delicias Terrestres", c. 1510. La visión distópica retratada en "La Condición Humana" es una advertencia - una lección de las dictaduras europeas que Norman experimentó de primera mano durante la década de 1930. Los inquietantes cuadros muestran la oscuridad de la humanidad y el mal que puede llegar a destacarse cuando la humanidad está en su peor momento. Sin embargo, hay esperanza en la experiencia del espectador: Norman pensaba que su audiencia era la mayor esperanza para la humanidad.
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