Norman Rockwell was a very realistic and successful 20th century artist.

His paintings were recognized

and loved by almost everyone in America. They captured reality and were almost photographic in their
representation. Rockwell also succeeds in having an aesthetic feel in his paintings. Aesthetics is an
appreciation of beauty. In all of his paintings, they can be appreciated for the quality, beauty, and time put
into them. A particular one of his pieces that he painted is entitled, Boyhood Dreams. It entails a certain
meaning that can relate to my cultural background.
Norman Rockwell was considered a reserved man, not given to grand gestures. He impressed himself on
America's collective imagination by his stubborn attachment to the old values. His ability to relate these
values to the events and circumstances of a rapidly changing world made him a special person in ways both
hero and friend to millions of his fellow citizens. His ability to get the point across in one picture, and his
style for painstaking detail made him a favorite of the advertising industry. Rockwell helped preserve
American myths, but, more than that, he recreated them and made them appealing for new generations. His
function was to reassure people, to remind them of old values in times of rapid change.
One of Rockwell's pieces that stuck out amongst the rest is one of a young boy sitting on a fence in a field
watching a locomotive off in the distance. This painting is entitled, Boyhood Dreams, which was painted in
1974 on an 18 x 18 size canvas. This was one of three painting in a series that Rockwell painted called,
Childhood Treasures. The main colors used on this piece are green, gray, tan, blue, and darker shades of
these colors. This genre painting demonstrates a various number of techniques in artistry. For one Rockwell
uses foreshortening. Foreshortening represents space by adjusting objects that are closer, making them
noticeably bigger. This is represented by the little boy and his dog sitting on the fence, which is larger than
the train, mountains, and town in the background. This ultimately gives you a sense of distance between the
boy and the objects in the background. Also, kinetic lines are used in the painting. A kinetic line is a line
that incorporates actual movement. This is used where the smoke is coming out of the locomotive while it
is moving forward. The smoke is moving back but also in an upward motion, which implies the train is
moving forward. Another type of style is used in this painting. For example in this painting, the train,
mountains, and power lines become blurrier and do not appear as bright as the objects in the front of the
painting. This style used is referred to as atmospheric perspective. This is a way of using color to achieve
the illusion of depth in a two dimensional artwork. As objects recede into the background they become
blurrier, have lower color intensity, and have less contrast. Rockwell used these techniques to achieve the
great detail and beauty in this painting.
Boyhood Dreams' semiotics can relate to my cultural background in a way. When I was young, I was
infatuated with trains. As a matter of fact, I still am. Just the sound of a locomotive passing by gave me
goose bumps. The boy in this picture is staring off into the distance at the train passing by wishing he could
be on it, or better yet, driving it. I recall as a younger boy, I would sit by my aunt's window in her apartment
in the city just waiting for the next train to come whizzing by. Or at my old pre-school, when we heard a
train's horn blowing in the distance we would all go running to the fence and watch in awe as it flew by us.
That is why I chose this painting by Norman Rockwell to relate to my cultural background because it
shows how this boy can be taken aghast by such a powerful machine.
Rockwell stated, "Without thinking too much about it in specific terms, I was showing the America I knew
and observed to others who might not have noticed." Although Norman Rockwell was always at odds with
modern notions of what an artist should be, he chose to paint life as he wanted to see it. His themes and
unique style have passed the test of time making him one of the best known and my personal favorite
American artists.