Who hasn't at some point wished they could just fly off somewhere, like birds or other winged things, without dishing out cash for a ticket or becoming unwillingly intimate with pat-down procedures?
My homage to winged beings actually began a long time ago but in recent years I have I approached a favorite symbol from a new angle with new images: BEAUTIFUL FLIGHT OF PEGASUS AND THE GOLDEN EAGLE
"In the valley of the shadow of broken worlds your wings dazzled and light reclaimed its beautiful power." (from The River of Winged Dreams)
The winged horse Pegasus and the Golden Eagle are two of our most powerful symbols from mythology and nature. The beauty of both have been known to inspire courage and hopefulness during times of personal crisis or chaotic upheavals in the world. The quote in fact is from a poem about Christmas, but you think about all the disorder and instability currently shaking up world communities it fits well. The sample presented with this post is a horizontal detail from the larger piece. WE’RE STILL HERE AND HOPE YOU ARE TOO
This shot of 4 seagulls on a River Street pier in Savannah, Georgia, is another taken the morning after Hurricane Matthew downed trees and swept water throughout the city.
A lot of people avoided the threat of physical from the hurricane by evacuating the city before it hit. Others huddled together either in the sturdiest structures they could find or wherever they happened to be. But it always seems a mystery how seagulls and other birds and animals manage to survive such powerful weather events then show up the next day looking as calm as this flock. To me, their countenance seems to quietly state: We are still here and hope you are too. Aberjhani
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Several of my newest Postered Chromatic Poetics images examine the roots of some lot of the negativity--from racial tension and the economic divide to religious conflicts and the gender gap-- we're seeing now. They are less about shouting out accusations than about inviting reflections. Below are the texts for them:
SOUTHERN TREES AND THE STRANGE FRUIT THEY BEAR (I
Like many such monuments throughout the southern United States, notably the one recently removed from a public space in New Orleans, this one has been the subject of some controversy. You can't really tell by the angle used here but this is one of the largest Confederate monuments in the country.
The gentleman who posed for it was Civil War veteran Hamilton Branch.
SOUTHERN TREES AND THE STRANGE FRUIT THEY BEAR (II)
Like many such monuments throughout the southern United States, notably the one recently removed from a public space in New Orleans, this one has been the subject of some controversy. You can't really tell by the angle used here but this is one of the largest Confederate monuments in the country. The gentleman who posed for it was Civil War veteran Hamilton Branch.
EUGENE TALMADGE MEMORIAL BRIDGE AND THE SERIOUS POLITICS OF NECESSARY CHANGE
During a 2016 "Span the Gap" initiative advocating for the change, a reporter named Janet Leigh Lebos asked for my input on the issue. The following is from her articled published in CONNECT SAVANNAH:
"'It should not be necessary in 2016 to stage marches across the bridge or have sit-ins on it to disrupt the illusion, or delusion, of normalcy in order to bring about a crucial intelligent change,' counsels Aberjhani.
"It shouldn’t be necessary, but maybe that’s what it will take. It actually sounds pretty awesome: To climb to the apex of that two-mile marvel with our neighbors and friends as the giant ships sail beneath, hand in hand as we stand up in the name of connecting Savannah with the right side of history." (Janet Leigh Lebos, CS, April 13, 2016)
Aberjhani
May 2017
Savannah, Georgia (USA), is a city of many cultural expressions and historical influences. It is one of America's original 13 colonies and often appears on lists of top tourist destinations.
This image gallery features fine art photographic images and digital creations in both color and black white. It showcases a unique perspective on various popular sites of historical and sociological significance. In some cases, the images underscore rarely-discussed issues evolving around racial tensions and the so-called wealth divide.
OWENS-THOMAS HOUSE IN SAVANNAH, GEORGIA
It is prized today by historians and tourists as a prime example of an urban antebellum structure where slave quarters remain intact behind the main building.
At a time (the 2010s) when large numbers of Savannah's indigenous African-American population are falling prey to gentrification, the elegant mansion is also an important reminder of how far they have come since the American Civil War.
EUGENE TALMADGE MEMORIAL BRIDGE THE MORNING AFTER HURRICANE MATTHEW
The photographic image seen here was taken Oct 8, 2016, the morning after Hurricane Matthew swept through the area. The seagull silhouetted near center foreground atop a post held still just long enough for this shot be taken and then flew off.
This is dedicated in memory of the late photographer Jack Leigh, who was a native of Savannah and a master of black and white photography.
THE HURRICANE AND THE CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS
The park was the location of an important campground during the American Civil War. That historical footnote is commemorated by the tall fenced-in Confederate Monument framed by the clearing sky, and the smaller bust of Confederate Army Major General Lafayette Laws.
The abundance of monuments documenting history considered important to Southern Whites in contrast to the paucity of such monuments acknowledging the city's large African-American population's accomplishments has long been a source of political and social contention.
Aberjhani
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/9/1/12911471/editor/artist-poet-author-aberjhani-2018brightsky.jpg?1543523719)
This meant books of poetry published outside the academic arena were considered foolishly frivolous investments, and books of art extravagant pleasures afforded the few but not the many. Yet at how many graduation ceremonies, political functions, funerals, weddings, conventions, and other life-defining events are the words of poets evoked to clarify the spirit and substance of the occasion at hand? On how many rainy days and in how many hours of stifled desperation has an individual made her way into a museum or gallery and took healing refuge in an image that bore witness to their heart’s challenging journey?
Whereas the great historian and humanitarian W.E.B. Du Bois once observed that “the cause of war is preparation for war,” the actions of those who made ELEMENTAL possible led me to consider that the cause of beauty and grace in the world is humanity’s empowerment of beauty and grace in the world. While it is unlikely that poetry or art shall eliminate the reality of war in the twenty-first century, it is thrilling to know there remain individuals, and even entire communities, still willing to invest in art and poetry’s own uniquely explosive contributions to the great, and small, dramas of human history.
by Aberjhani
![Picture](/uploads/1/2/9/1/12911471/published/silk-featherbrush-logo-art55by-aberjhani-c2018_1.png?1543523307)
I never intended to make attempts at doing what they did, and do, so expertly. I usually wrote about their work or composed poetry inspired by it. Any number of times they were kind enough to provide cover art for my books. Now I’m branching out a bit and enjoying producing some images which I hope people find engaging on a few different levels.
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen.”
––Leonardo da Vinci
There’s nothing surprising in the observation that literary artists and visual artists often combine their talents to create works which, when joined together, allow each to transcend possible limitations of the other. The literary artist lends verbal depth to the visual. The visual artist provides visible articulation for the literary.
The goal of each has generally been the same: to fashion out of the raw material of creativity a symbol—or an image—capable of communicating some significant experience of truth, beauty, life, or death, to the observer. And there have been in fact any number of successful partnerships between such creatively charged intellects. Artist Romare Bearden and playwright Ntozake Shange’s I Live in Music comes to mind; as does various works by Salvador Dali and Federico Garcia Lorca; the visual style of Aaron Douglas and the literary voices of the Harlem Renaissance; the French poet and critic Apollinaire Guillaume, whose literary loyalty empowered the bohemians of Picasso’s early days; and more recently, poet Coleman Barks’ interpretations of Jalal Al-Din Rumi “illuminated” by Michael Green.
I meditate upon these creative artists’ subtle yet titanic achievements at this time for two reasons: one is because the ear-drum shattering booms of war and the soul-numbing cracklings of human discontent that continue to echo across planet Earth remind us of how painted and verbalized visions help people retain a sense of context and harmony in an era that too often seems to make such notions—like black and white TVs-- utterly obsolete.
The second reason is because May 29, 2010, marks the second anniversary of the publication celebration for the art and poetry gift book, ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love, held at the Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia. A third less official reason is because recently ELEMENTAL was added to the Google Book search engine, which means those unfamiliar with it may now enjoy an extended preview .
Considering the legacies of visual art in partnership with literary art, in general, reinforces the powerful resources they still provide. Contemplating the anniversary of ELEMENTAL in particular renews appreciation for the extraordinary milestone it continues to represent.
AND CHECK OUT: Art Plus Poetry Equals Magic Part 2
Aberjhani
Artist-Author Aberjhani
Award-winning author and artist acclaimed for works in multiple creative genres.
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