Philosopher Marshall Berman summarizes an issue with contemporary society:
You could be asking yourself, what does Berman mean? Simply put, the world promises us everything, but, at the same time, it can take everything away.
Painter and graphic designer Landon Sheely illustrates how people react to this condition. What he draws from and how are people are drawn by it, encapsulates the complexity of modern America.
“I have no real art to it at all,” says Landon. “I just may paint a very simple silhouette of a house. And that’s all people may see. But, that simple painting of a house started with me angry about an ICE raid and families broken apart because of deportation.”
Politics: it’s a scary word. It can sour people, ruin family gatherings, and complicate otherwise simple situations. While at the same time, it can better society, strengthen communities, and clarify living. Landon’s venture into political art didn’t happen over night. As he states, it had a complicated beginning.
“I am part of this weird, new, western sub-culture that is post-Evangelical Christian cynics,” says Landon. After going to Sunday school and being told to treat all-others kindly, he noticed a disconnection among faith, scripture, and actuality.
Well, life was more than a parable for Landon. He began a ten year mission, traveling from the Midwest to California to Haiti, helping people in need.
His work picked up elements along the way—imagine scenes from The Grapes of Wrath underscored by the brightness of 60s pop art. While his latest work “Resist” is playful, it speaks with subtle tension.
“I like the idea of it fitting in a second grade classroom,” says Landon. “I like the idea of a younger generation that is the hope of the world, learning to resist and be kind.”
It’s easy to be critical of art and politics. Even for a self-proclaimed cynic, Landon reminds us how he doesn’t create art because he thinks he can save the world. He creates it, in hope, that one person can find encouragement.
“When I make a print or a painting. . .I don’t think that I am going to actually change how Americans view immigrants, view refugees,” says Landon. “But, I paint the word ‘Welcome’ on a canvas and hang it up, in hopes that one person is positively affected by it.”
If all that is solid melts into air, well, what can be left behind? Even for all those voices that melt into the masses, in the end, Landon is an ear, that listens to those who can’t be heard.
