Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 2 - Faces and Flowers

Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 2 - Faces and Flowers

THE IMAGE ITSELF
If you check out Kaleidoscope Moon for Children... more

by Aberjhani

Title

Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 2 - Faces and Flowers

Artist

Aberjhani

Medium

Digital Art - Mixed Media - Digital Painting

Description

Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 2 - Faces and Flowers

THE IMAGE ITSELF
If you check out "Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 1" you will notice the style for it is completely different from what is employed here. There's a reason for that: The phrase, "This is not a simple black and white issue," is a fairly common one in the English language. For those unfamiliar with it, it means something is not as obvious as it might appear to be. But interestingly enough, what we refer to as blackness or whiteness is often more a matter of complex gradations of colors, emotions, and meanings than we might assume. That complexity has been known to lead to confusions and destruction in political situations, but also to celebrated discoveries and resolutions in creative contexts.

Bearing in mind the above, "Kaleidoscope Moon for Children Gone Too Soon Number 2" features a geodesic orb of flaming gold lines set against solid ebony surface. The colors and patterns in this instance are intended to pay tribute to children who have become "ancestors" before living a full life. In the center of the image, simplified child-like faces form a circle around a large silver-white ring with gold shining in the center. The smiling faces themselves are surrounded by a floral-like pattern, the overall effect creating the image of a large blossoming flower with a silver rainbow in the upper-left quadrant. Other elements and interpretations I leave to viewers' imaginations.

THE STORY BEHIND THE SERIES
During the holiday season some years ago, I lost a niece and nephew to extreme violence and chose to honor their lives by naming a Christmas tree after them. It was my way of gifting them the joy of which they had been robbed. The new Kaleidoscope Moons Series is an extension of that tradition in honor of children lost to such violence around the world as we move forward into 2019. It is also an expression of standing in solidarity with families who have endured these losses as they adjust to something from which they are unlikely to ever fully recover. Therefore, in lieu of a Christmas tree, the Kaleidoscope Moons Series.

Specifically: The news out of Houston, Texas (USA) was particularly gruesome upon learning that 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes had been shot and killed while in a car with her family the morning before New Year's Eve. Her mother, LaPorsha Washington, was also shot but survived along with 3 other daughters. In my hometown of Savannah, Georgia, an up-and-coming 17-year-old rapper named Tyrese Carter and a 20-year-old named Jamar Davis Jr. were shot dead within 24 hours after the New Year got underway.

The family of one gun violence victim, former university student Rebecca Foley killed 6 years ago in Savannah, announced plans to fight back. They are suing, to the tune of $35 million, the owners of the apartment complex where Ms. Foley was killed for the "inadequate security" they feel contributed to her death.

Obviously art cannot bring back any of our loved ones lost to senseless violence. But for those who did not get their chance to establish mega-stardom and document their passage on this journey we call life, the Kaleidoscope Moons Series can testify on their behalf. It can proclaim they were here and their lives were/are as deserving of celebration and remembrance as anyone's.

Aberjhani
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
The River of Winged Dreams

Uploaded

January 9th, 2019

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