The label below will be present in the exhibition alongside this piece. It is provided here so that fans submitting fanworks know in advance how fandom will be discussed in this project. However, fanworks do not need to take into account the below information and should be inspired by or responding to the piece of art alone: 

John Wilde 
American, 1919 - 2006 
A Lesson from Nature, 1952 
Tempera on board 
9 1/4 x 13 in 
2005.13 
Isabelle Polacheck Estate Gift 
 

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, John Wilde was a highly respected Midwestern artist and a leader in the American Surrealist and Magic Realism movements. He was a renowned painter and draftsman and master of silverpoint whose images capture the dreamlike world of the subconscious. He spent his life in Wisconsin where he taught drawing at the University of Wisconsin Madison from 1948-1982, helped shape the cultural identity of the state, and inspired generations of artists for over six decades. 

In A Lesson from Nature, Wilde appears to create a personal narrative of art history. Like many famous artists before him, such as Velázquez and Raphael, Wilde infuses himself into the scene by including his self-portrait (seen on the right-hand side of the piece, sketching the model). While other artists may have portrayed themselves as a means to elevate their status as artists, Wilde seems to present a tongue-in-cheek version as understood by the cartoon-like angels carrying a banner that reads “There is little new under the sun.” 

Histories 

Sometimes, media owners and producers might provide limited or selective histories for fans to explore. In these cases, fans create extended histories by prioritizing those components that they believe are most important and filling in gaps in knowledge. Fan created histories might include the backstory of a character or celebrity, the connections between a current text and a creator’s previous texts, or the connections between a current media object and cultural or historical texts. Fan histories mix fact, lore, rumor, and imagination to create modern myths around fandoms.