As I was scrolling through videos apart of the MET Museum Project, I came across Josephine Meckseper and the painting that inspired hers’ artist, George Tooker. I researched the two and was intrigued by their work. I found that both artists combined my newly gained knowledge of fine art, political science, and women’s studies from my current college classes. This lead me to decide to compare the two in this essay. It was clear to see that though these artists were different, they both experienced oppression and aimed to challenge society and political views.
To better understand the artists, I must first provide background knowledge. George Tooker was born on August 5th, 1920 in Brooklyn, NY long before contemporary artist Josephine Meckseper ever moved to the state of New York to begin her career. Meckseper was born close to 45 years after Tooker in Lithenthal, Germany.
Coming from a simple family, Tooker was a shy man who liked rural isolation compared to urban life. He knew he wanted to be an artist and insisted on going to art school, but his parents made him attend college first where he majored in English literature. Meckseper was very different. She came from an artist household and flew half way across the globe to attend the California Art…show more content… Most people distrusted the government and their fellow citizens during this time and Tooker’s painting perfectly described as such. “Subway” (1950) was his first rise to fame, when it was bought by the Whitney Museum of American Art. “The Waiting Room” is a mystery. In the painting, nobody knows what people are waiting for and you can see what you would assume would a be a government agent to the left. And “Government Bureau,” is the painting that inspired Josephine Meckseper in the MET Museum Project
