A World of Separation

We view New York City as the greatest, most diverse city in the world. Different cultures are creatively portrayed in artistic works throughout the city. The Museum of Modern Art is filled with artistic representations of the past, present, and future of our society. Through art, defining aspects of different time periods are brought to light. By appreciating this artwork, we encounter new perspectives on the world. One artist whose work is displayed at this museum is Jack Whitten, an American painter who lived from 1939 to 2018. Whitten’s artwork is distinguished by his trademark “paint as collage” process. His work embodies Abstract Expressionism, a method that allowed him to convey his ideas through nontraditional artistic approaches. Whitten’s piece, titled “Atopolis: For Édouard Glissant,” is pictured in Figure 1. 

Figure 1. Whitten, Jack. “Atopolis: For Édouard Glissant.” The Museum of Modern Art, 2014.

The word “atopolis” is Greek for “without place,” emphasizing the idea of the outcast in society. Outcasts are secluded from the world around them. In Whitten’s work, there is a clear distinction between black and white. In the center, it is mostly white, demonstrating how whites dominate the center of the universe. On the outskirts of this white circle, there are clumps of black. These clusters represent African American communities that are separated from society. These people are the outcasts. Therefore, Whitten places these clusters of black around the white center as African Americans are not integrated into a society controlled by the white majority. 

On the other hand, there are areas in Whitten’s work in which blacks and whites are less separated. Some areas are gray while other areas are a combination of some white and some black, illustrating the integration between blacks and whites. As well, it seems as if small black clusters are trying to integrate towards the middle of the image in order to incorporate themselves into society. Although African Americans are attempting to become part of mainstream society, the center of the image remains mostly white. 

Even when you take a quick look at the image, the first color that you are likely to see is white. Also, when we look at pictures, our eyes are immediately drawn to the center. Then, we are led to believe that the white part of the image is more important than the black parts, suggesting white domination in society as African Americans embody the role of the outcast. 

Take notice of the plurality here: we look at the image and see white as a singular entity, while we recognize that there are many separate black parts. Whites are incorporated into communities and have a place in society, but blacks are separated and do not have a sense of identity. 

The idea of the outcast has always been prominent in our society. Whitten’s work was created in 2014, which emphasizes that societal separations existed in the past but have not subsided in our current time. Like artists, authors have portrayed the outcast in their works. Ralph Ellison’s novel Invisible Man starts out by stating, “I am an invisible man.” As an African American, the narrator feels separated from society and as if his actions do not matter since he is “invisible” and, consequently, is unimportant to society. Race has created separations that allow whites to control society as African Americans merely exist on the outside, viewed as insignificant to society’s well being. 

However, outcasts do not only originate from racial separations. In Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, Billy Pilgrim is “unstuck in time.” Billy on the outside as he is always in a different time period, and he is even sometimes on the island of Tralfamadore rather than on Earth. He is labeled as the outcast who should have never been a soldier in the Vietnam War. In Joan Didion’s The White Album, Didion describes how disconnected and unimportant she felt during the 1960s. 

Inevitably, our society has contained people who lead society and people who are left on the outside. By noticing these separations, we can take a step towards better incorporating all people into society. Won’t this incorporation only make the world a more accepting and meaningful place for us all?

By: Emily Masia