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| Joseph Ferrara, Free Press 1957 |
A look inside the work "Free Press" by Joseph Ferrara
Written By: Jeanne Stetzer
Wisconsin Artists and their instructors play a pivotal role in the upcoming show Wisconsin Art From the Collection of David Barnett and David Barnett Gallery, on view beginning January 18th and running through April 13th, 2013. The works on display cover a wide range of styles and mediums, and subject matter ranging from still lifes, to portraits, landscapes, and social politics. Each work can stand on its own, but together we are able to understand and appreciate the variety of artistic talent that resides in Wisconsin.
Free Press by Joseph Ferrara is one such piece. Painted in watercolor in 1957, Free Press, represents the racial inequality of the era. The painting depicts an African American man standing outside the Milwaukee Journal pressroom, watching as the white employees print that day's newspaper. Not only does this work represent the segregation and racial inequality that was occurring here in Milwaukee but it also touches upon the important issue of the bias nature of media of the time, in this case the newspaper.
Here, Ferrara paints in a very linear style creating a sense that not everything is right with the world. The figures are elongated and not individualized by facial characteristics, rather Ferrara differentiates between the figures simply with color. The pigments within the painting are muted and earth toned, creating an environment in which there is not a sense of pleasure, but rather oppression, The figure of the African American man stands under a street lamp, illuminated by rays of light, while the interior lights illuminate the white workers. Through the lines, color, and composition Ferrara is able to convey a scene of solitude and subjugation.
Ferrara is known for his paintings produced in what he referred to as "frozen watercolors", produced by freezing the watercolor outside overnight. While Free Press is a few years away from this created technique, there are still experimental tendencies utilized in its creation. To create the rays of light from the street post, Ferrara used rubber cement and then preceded to scratch into the surface of the work. This reworking of the surface gives the work a sense of depth, drawing the viewers in.
Free Press was created specifically for the Milwaukee Journal's 75th Anniversary Awards for Wisconsin Painters of 1957. As with most of Ferrara's paintings it was created onsite directly across from the Journal's pressroom as a run of newspapers were being printed. That year Joseph Ferrara received a judges's citation for his work, which was then exhibited for a time at the Milwaukee Art Center, now know as the Milwaukee Art Museum.
In 1984 Joseph Ferrara retired from teaching at Shorewood High School, where he was an art teacher as well as a coach. Among many of his students was David Barnett, who remembers that his first piece of art which started his collection was by his high school art teacher Ferrara. In 2002 Ferrara passed away, but his love of art was passed along to his students.
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