A Family Portrait

When somebody thinks about “family”it is com- mon to appear in mind the classic structure: father, mother and sons, of course if the person goes to clas- sic plus ideal concept of it this imaginary picture will show only four people, parents, just one son and one daughter, the ideal in descendants structures, but the reality is quite different. This family structure has been promoted for several years or decades in order to limit demographic population problems, by TV broadcast, radio broadcast and show business as a government plan, in our country this politic agree was celebrated in 70’s decade between the politic party PRI and the main TV enterprise in Mexico, Televisa, which had won politic and economic power since that time. This program had success, the population be- gan to decrease during the 80’s years and the“Happy Family Model”became fashion into the mexican soci- ety. Further than this fact the family reality is not like that. According the social researches in Mexico, close to 70% of families living without a father pat- tern figure, the father has gone or something happen like that, but in the inner part of all this families the main figure is the mother, and of course, the cou- ple began this part of their life as the classic family model, and just after a period the male figure, the father, left the home.

So, what is the family? This question towards to reveal the facts about the common family, not only the own family group, but the families around us, and in this point I would like to express what I see as a witness, family goes further than this model, it covers not only the same blood, it covers close friends, and alternative models such as same sex families. Work- ers in farms, factories, stores and so on, show this fact. Obviously the moral sponsors in society do not support this idea and reality, the established religion can not accept it, but always the reality depicts in the common family idea.

Should this family idea had the same structure al- ways? I do not think so. When I look into “The Potato Eaters” painting, which was made in 1885 by Van Gogh, a peasants family group is discovered at first sight, portraying five figures and making them look natural, it gives the invisible witness opportu- nity for the spectator, it seems just if the spectator were watching in secret from a little hole in wall, no- body in the scene had had the impression of being watched, they are just taking time for eating, talk- ing, sharing their life as a family, beneath the light of an oil lamp, the people are using the same hands with which they take food from plate to work the land, that they have toiled with their hands that they have earned their food by honest means, according to the Van Gogh words in a letter to his brother. After this short analysis one conclusion is coming out, the fam- ily structure had change in social speech, but into its inner part It did not change, the family keeps its es- sential definition, as a elemental part of society, but a biological cell, It has inside several mixtures, more than the same blood or religion, It is human as Van Gogh paintings, and if someone should decide to take a close look today, he could proof the experience of watching families from far distance or so close as the invisible witness into The Potato Eaters painting.

Figure 1: The Potato Eaters, 1885; oil on canvas, 81.5 × 114.5 cm