Monday, December 26, 2005

Strength in Art

Time for a shot of culture.

I ran across the works of this artist while surfing the net about a year ago. His work embodies strength, pride and a regal-ness that we all should morph into our beings. When you see his art work the subjects touch your soul and tell you a story without the need for description. I just wanted to share with you the works of Kadir Nelson. The picture below is called Cotton.



What this piture brings to my mind is this:

I reflect on today.
No matter the labor that YT puts on me, only makes me stronger.
His demands for my body and mind strengthen my character.
It weakens his perception of me as he sits up high on my shoulder.
He only sees me as a way to his means.
If I misstep he will chastise me.
This is where my power lies, knowing I have the ability to cause reaction with a slight stumble.
Dear Lord, guide me on my way.


Below is Kadir Nelson's description:
When faced with unspeakable hardship and struggle, African-Americans have retained a sense of pride, dignity, elegance and strength. In this dramatic work by Kadir Nelson, a southern plantation field slave hoists a wicker basket filled to the brim with cotton over his shoulder, undaunted by the horrible slave existence and painful task of picking cotton forced upon him. From "The African American Series" by Kadir Nelson.

What do you see?

1 comment:

Dubbed As Trent Jackson said...

No matter what we go through, we will still rise to the top.