Journalistic Responsibility II – 1967 – 78” X 120” ~ Commissioned by the Orlando Sentinel
WHY? - Painted at the MacDowell Colony - 1969 - 72” X 92” Oil on canvas
1969 Vietnam
2022 Ukraine
Text as it appearers in painting
IJUSTDEPARTEDWHYNATIONAL
SECURITYWHATTHEYCALLWAR
WHYSOWAGERSMAYLIVEBUTYOU
ARESOYOUNGTHEYOUTHHAVETHE
STRENGTHOFBODYWHATOFLIFE
THATISFORTHEWAGERSWONT
YOUMISSITWHATOFLIFEWHY
WHATOFLIFEWHYWONTYOU
MISSITWHYWHYWHYWHY
Legible
"I just departed." "Why'?" "National
Security; what they call war."
"Why?" "So wagers may live" "But you
are so young" "The youth have the
strength of body" "What of life?"
"That is for the wagers." "Won’t
you miss It?" "What of life?''
"Why?" "Won't you miss it?"
"Why?" "What of life?''
Singleton's
latest
work,
(1968)
one
produced
after
much
thought,
recognizes
the
reality
of
the
generation
gap.
A
literary
message,
in
dialogue
form
over
the
figure
of
a
dying
boy,
it
exposes
the
inarticulate
nature
of
questions,
the
naivete
of
answers
and
the
pain
suffered
by
men
separated by chronological age and appetite.
Romance on Canvas
By Grace Kehrer
Spring 1969
Robert
Singleton
as
an
artist
stands
in
the
shadows
of
Romantic,
realistic
and
transcendental
movements
where
notions
like
Nature,
Man,
Society,
Individualism
and
Responsibility
are
strained
though
the
reality
of
two
world
wars,
police
actions,
a
crass
materialism
and
an
intensifying
depersonalization.
Finding
himself
caught
up
in
a
miasmic
atmosphere
created,
in
part,
by
computer,
"Wagers"
and
a
relativistic
viewpoint,
Singleton,
the
self-admitted
incurable
romantic,
attempts
to
understand
a
sick society and bring intelligible order to a chaotic universe.
Singleton's
paintings
on
oversize
canvases,
done
in
primary
colors,
stand
testimonial
to
contemporary
styling
techniques
executed
under
the
banner
of
"Art
for
Art's
sake."
However,
the
questions,
often
spelled
out
in
block
letters,
are
timeless
and
universal.
While
Singleton
does
not
offer
a
solution
to
the
problem
of
man's
inhumanity
to
man,
nor
locate
a
center
of
human
spirituality,
he
does
examine
the
phenomena,
continuing
the quest in a personal, thoughtful and sensitive manner.
Two
paintings
commissioned
by
the
Orlando
Sentinel
represent
the
artist
personal
statement
and
not
a
compromise.
The
first
painting
seems
to
suggest
the
Influential
nature
or
newspapers
and
the
danger
present
in
the,
"facts"
presented
by
the
editors
reflecting
the
"opinions"
of
the
publisher.
The
second
painting
develops
the
idea
of
journalistic
responsibility
and
influence.
Interjecting
often
ignored,
possibly
forgotten
notions
of
equality,
ethics,
freedom
and
unbiased
news,
printed
upon
a
white
field
surrounding
a
patriotically
colored
center,
one
can
only
hope
these
subtleties
are
not
lost on the Sentinel staff.
“War
is
a
place
where
young
people
who
don’t
know
each
other,
and
don’t
hate
each
other,
kill
each
other,
by
the
decision
of
older
rulers
who
know each other and hate each other, but don’t kill each other…”
Erich Hartmann: German fighter pilot during World War II.
1969
Florida
State
University
–
With
WHY?
hanging
the
background;
students
discussing
the
responsibility
of
artist
according
to
what
they
believe
is
morally
right,
to
document
their
time,
to
protest,
to
reflect
through
their
work
the
contemporary
violent
values
of
humanity and the world. Be it visual arts, literature or music.
Journalistic Responsibility I – 1967 – 78” X 78” ~ Commissioned by the Orlando Sentinel