A Social History of the State of Missouri (detail) - Frankie and Johnny 1936

This detail of Thomas Hart Benton's "A Social History of the State of Missouri" is, like, pure organized chaos, right? Look at these folks tumbling every which way. I bet Benton was just consumed with how to orchestrate it all! It must have been a total trip trying to nail the push and pull of figures in space, figuring out how to get the right level of realism without it becoming… stagey. I wonder if Benton ever felt like he was wrestling with his own perspective, like, trying to get the story straight but also knowing there’s no single truth? The way he's painted the gun firing, the table overturning, and the people fleeing suggests the story has many sides. There is a kinship between artists from different eras. Like, I'm often thinking of the history of painting when I am in my studio. Art is one big conversation over time, inspiring each other's creativity. Painting's an embodied thing, and there is always going to be room for ambiguity.