About the Collection
Oil Paintings by Steve Simon
Artist Steve Simon began this collection of great peacemakers as a response to a realization of his own relative ignorance about these historical figures and their imminent relevance to contemporary events playing out on the world stage. Simon has long felt the urge to identify roots of oppression, violence, and war and to ponder means for a more cooperative coexistence.
Of course, all of us have ideas how we would change the world if we were king. This collection is not about that. It is not about one artist’s ideas. It is about his interpretation of a vast array of history’s courageous contributors who deserve to be studied and respected.
Simon’s goal in producing this body of work was to knit together a historical narrative that places each peacemaker in the broader overarching context of the march toward greater universal freedom, justice, and shared happiness.
How, then, did the artist select the subjects for the collection or even define a “great peacemaker” for that matter? Plainly and simply, great peacemakers were defined as those who recognized social norms that were at odds with freedom, justice, and shared happiness and had the courage and fortitude to overturn these negative social norms.
The collection is not meant to be fully comprehensive but rather representative of peacemakers across a broad spectrum of realms including social justice, environmental stewardship, and non-violence. It also highlights figures who have exhibited exemplary compassion or dedication to advancing happiness.
Most importantly the aim of the collection is to educate. There are currently no comprehensive means in our general education or public forum to inform us of the extraordinary sacrifices and contributions these great people profiled in this collection have given us. Perhaps we learn bits and pieces of certain noteworthy biographies, often sensationalized and propagandized for specific biases. Rarely, however, do we find an objective source that knits these biographies together in a meaningful way that outlines the path peace has marched and where it must lead. This is precisely what Simon has set out to do.
The collection is not, therefore, solely a collection of biographies but rather a distillation of courageous contributions into a narrative that establishes a certain encouraging, if not, indomitable arc. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.” This collection is about those who have put their backs into shaping that arc.
May we understand that their examples are imminently relevant to overcome the myriad of challenges we face. May we learn from the Great Peacemakers and, finally, may we pick up where they have left off.
