THE EDITOR, Sir:
MY VISIT to Emancipation Park has left me wondering how naked must truth be to communicate its message.
As a deeply spiritual man and with the sensibility of an artist myself, I know that what we experience in private is an inspiration so real and so pure, no one dares rob us of it. It is an offence, it would seem, for the passer-by to gaze upon a work of art and to reduce it to purely objective and rational scrutiny.
The Gleaner of Thursday, August 7, reported 'Sculptress Laura Facey-Cooper has quietly weathered the storm... largely unruffled by the raging debate.' And why not? She is an artist. As far as she is concerned the monument at the park says what she artistically experienced in a moment of private inspiration.
And she has good support from her fellow artist Dr. David Boxer who articulates the meaning for her. "I see two black human beings resplendent in their purity... Yes, this is a prayer. The work is a silent hymn of communication with and thanksgiving to the Almighty."
I do not doubt the genuineness of Ms. Facey-Cooper's artistic experience. But the message which she seeks to convey is not the message that is being heard. Worse, it is certainly not the message which is being seen. It is neither liberating nor is it redemptive to our people.
If we were not told, we would never have identified those images with slavery, nor with an act of prayer, nor with the determination, courage and struggle for freedom.
Nakedness to a slave was never an expression of freedom. In fact it reminds us of their public exposure at the whipping post denuded to the bone. It was a violation of their modesty, an expression of disrespect, reducing them to the value of mere beasts.
When last have you seen men and women praying in their nakedness to God? Certainly not in public. They more than likely cover themselves in their humility. And who said that public nakedness is a sign of purity? It is more an expression of lewdness, shamelessness and sometimes of poverty. And, if I am not mistaken, it is still a legal offence in the statute books.
The truth is, the most beautiful intimacies experienced in private can become most inappropriate, obscene and plainly vulgar in public view. So those who laud art for art's sake, must find a site where the exhibit can be appreciated by the purists. It ought not to be forced upon the public to create an offence to the moral sensibilities and spiritual conscience of the people.
That is why, as artistic as Ms. Facey-Cooper's Redemption Song is, its true message is lost in its nakedness.
My strong recommendation to the powers that be is, "Remove it, lest it be removed!"
I am, etc.,
DR. C.B. PETER MORGAN
Senior Pastor
Covenant Community Church
P.O. Box 192
Kingston 10, Jamaica
