Extra Credit Field Trip Essay

FAITH

Last Thursday on one of this year’s first rainy Autumn days I made my way to 103rd St. and Fifth Ave. to introduce myself to one of America’s most influential post-war era illustrators, Mac Conner. As a pupil illustrator myself I marveled at the line work, color, composition and narrative for which this artist’s creations have been renowned for half a decade. Images from each chapter of Mr. McCauley Conner’s career were exhibited and paired with an informative paragraph explaining the relevance of his work. Aside from being a skilled painter, Conner’s work for various women’s magazines were recognized for his portrayal of the modern American family’s aesthetic. His carefully blueprinted illustrations combined chic fashion trends with the modesty of the American nuclear family, largely influencing his success in the advertising world as well as insuring that his work would always be remembered as an idealistic icon of America’s Golden Era.

Although there were many pieces in this exhibit that I was captivated by, Conner’s illustration for “Faith” by Edward S. Fox for Redbook magazine in 1952 particularly stood out to me. In this image we see a little boy sitting in a dark room that is full of empty beds. The composition of this illustration immediately caught my attention. The pattern of the beds, the use of positive and negative space and the perspective make for a stimulating, rhythmic piece which guides your eye to the focal point, the lonely little boy.

The room is very big, but aside from the boy, his toy airplane and the beds it is completely unoccupied. Instead of choosing to show the boy’s facial expression or choosing a more intimate “close-up” shot, Mac Conner framed the illustration in a way which made the subject feel very far away from the viewer. This perspective reinforces to the viewer that the boy is isolated and alone.

Conner continues to visually explain that the boy is alone by his carefully selected color combinations. The room itself is a dry dark blue color which frames most of the image, the sheets of the beds are a cool white, and a heavy black is used for details throughout the rest of the image. The image is very pail and gloomy, but the boy has warm tan skin and is wearing a dark red outfit in front of a glowing yellow window next to his bright orange toy. The use of warm vs. cool colors in this image make the boy look like a tiny orange buoy floating in an enormous dark ocean which demonstrates the boys feeling of insignificance.

Conner is able to get away with giving his main subject little real estate by manipulating compositional elements. In doing so he created a story that not only shows a little boy that is alone in a room but also conveys the emotion of loneliness.