I took a double glance when I saw Jerry Kearns 1987 piece "Affirmative Action"at The Palmer Museum of Art. It's an acrylic painting of a woman wearing a dress that stops right before her muscular knees, and open toed heels on her feet. Her hair stops at her shoulders, and looks delicate and neat.She is shoveling what appears to be dirt or manure in a very firm steady posture, with her legs apart for balance and a very tight grip on the shovel. She seems almost tired, but her jaw is clenched and her face gives the viewer a feeling of courage and determination. Behind the woman there is a backdrop of a city full of red buildings with yellow windows, and a yellow and red mixed sky. The woman is painted white with a black outline, almost like a comic book character. The woman appears a lot larger than the city as she stands before it shoveling, with her face looking on the ground towards the viewer.

The first thought that came to mind was women's rights. She is struggling with the shovel but shows no signs of quitting, instead the woman portrays a brave, independent attitude. The painting represents a woman's struggle in the workforce. She is dressed in work ready attire but is left shoveling manure. She's one of many woman who were prepared in every way to get a successful job, but weren't given what they deserved because of their sex. This painting goes back to women's want for equality since around the 1920s, and finally reaching great progress in the 1970's and 1980's. However, not only does this piece represent the fight for women's rights, but also those of all minority groups who struggled immensely in the mid 1900's.

Being a Hispanic women, raised around my parents Hispanic cultures and beliefs, helped me relate to this painting. When my mother moved to the states in her 20's, she was denied several jobs because of her race, and slight accent, even after graduating from law school. She has engraved in my head that even through all the frustration and desperation she had gone through, she never once stopped trying and eventually found a job and is now a successful human rights lawyer. In the piece "Affirmative Action" the woman represents all those being discriminated due to race, religion, sexual orientation, etc. and their determination to change, that lead to were we are today with equal rights, and where we will be in the future.

Jerry Kearns has a very unique artistic talent, and in his paintings he combines comic book like characters, or super heroes, with reality. His pieces all relate to his view on different issues in today's society, many times in a very satirical and ironic way. A lot of his art work is about discrimination and his overall view on society and human rights.

I enjoyed visiting the Palmer and witnessed a lot of different styles, opinions, and messages in different forms of art, varying from sculptures, to photographs, to paintings. I definitely want to return to the Palmer and learn about the paintings I didn't have time to stop and think about. Going to the museum gave me an idea of what type of art really speaks to me and grabs my attention, and I left wanting to explore more of these paintings and their artistic meanings and opinions.