Ronald Rodney

Art in the Wilderness: a Retrospective of the Art of Ronald Rodney

Art in the Wilderness is a voice crying out to the artist, the art historians, educators, politicians, pastors, museums, art galleries, and to all peoples who have a desire for justice, a yearning for knowledge and the need to understand one mans struggle. The struggle through his arts and his vision of the world around him speaks to us on a personal and universal level. All who read this book will benefit through his courageous honest effort to see the injustices of history past and present. The contents of this work begins with Ronalds formative years on the island of Trinidad and moves us to a new world where people are divided racially, politically, socially, and even creatively, as witness by the artist during his studies at the various hallowed institutions. The succeeding chapters reflect Ronalds understanding of our "Art History" and its relationship to society. However in his research he comes to realize a certain truth about the forces that governed and even shaped our understanding about art and a mans position in the world. Following this path he began his own visual journey to record and express the injustices that prevail and are generally neglected by our grand aesthetic values.