The Bear and the Berry Picker

The image above is of a woodcut print by artist Carlos Cortez (1923-2005), titled "The Bear and the Berry Picker." It is one of eleven original prints by Cortez that are now on display at Stumpjack Coffee Company in Two Rivers. The prints range, in subject matter, from Mexican Day of the Dead imagery (skeletons), workers rights and unionization, folk music, and history of Mexico. This particular image is the only one that shows any overt nudity (if you don't count the skeleton imagery...think about it) and is also the most overtly sexual in theme. The subject matter of "The Bear and the Berry Picker" relates to, as told to me by Cortez, a Mexican folk tale, the details of which I have forgotten over the years.

As I recall, the story is not too dissimilar from stories coming out of any number of indigenous cultures, as well as early European fables. It goes something like this: A bear (or coyote or wolf or some other wily critter) tricks or seduces one or more female berry pickers, the ruse's outcome of which is procreation and/or transformation by either the animal, the female(s) or the offspring. There often seems to be some aspect of the myth surrounding feral children to these tales (human children raised in the wild by nonhuman animals). Feral children are often thought to have certain characteristics that are superior in some way to "normal" human children, attributes such as great strength, intelligence or insight. The belief is that they are so gifted because they have been raised in a "purer" environment, unpolluted by civilization and humankind's corrupted state of being. These beings often are at the foundation of a culture's myths of origin (think of Rome's mythical founders, Romulus and Remus, for example).

In any event (I'm getting off track here and am allowing the historian in me to push his way through), the real purpose of this post is to talk about the surface image itself. A lady came into Stumpjack today and by all appearances was having a wonderful time (great lunch, mocha and conversation)...until she wandered into the back and saw the Cortez print, at which point she expressed her offense and scolded me for displaying the image. Yes, to answer your obvious question, she was an older lady, yet well dressed and obviously (to me) not uneducated and socially connected in some way. I addressed her lament with what I think was good humor and politeness, although I did not acquiesce to her mandate that I remove the print altogether.

I confess that I found the exchange both amusingly interesting and yet a little disappointing at the same time. Interesting because I, of course, mentally flashed through any number of Renaissance and Neo-Classical images of entirely nude or semi-nude figures, mythical half human/half animal creatures, and erotic subject matter...that I would bet five pounds of fine Puerto Rican coffee this good lady is well aware of and doesn't so much as raise an eyebrow at.

Of course often much of the issue of whether or not something is deemed offensive has to do with context. Was it the image itself that offended her (would she have found it as distasteful had she viewed it at, for example, the Art Institute of Chicago, in a gilded frame with other objects de arte on either side)? Or did the fact that she discovered it in a small, tastefully appointed coffee shop in Two Rivers create a jarring enough juxtaposition for her to nevertheless be taken aback by the (what I consider) rather innocuous and cartoony nudity of the piece?

This incident was not entirely unexpected, as I did think we might get few comments on that particular piece, although I thought the comments would be of the more humorous and playfully sarcastic sort. I really didn't believe that anyone who came to Stumpjack would actually be offended or upset by it (in my capacity as a small business owner I certainly don't desire to offend or upset). The intent is largely to stimulate conversation, provoke thought, present something hopefully new and interesting, and to possibly educate or create greater awareness (stay tuned for our next scheduled exhibition of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs...lol).