Clamshell without Venus - Environmentally Speaking Number 1

by Aberjhani

Title

Clamshell without Venus - Environmentally Speaking Number 1

Artist

Aberjhani

Medium

Mixed Media - Mixed Media Digital Paintings

Description

Have you ever checked out Sandro Botticelli's classic 1484 painting, "Birth of Venus," with the ancient Roman goddess of love standing newly-born upon a beautiful giant clamshell floating on lovely waves toward a clean shoreline? It becomes hard when looking at it to imagine we would find ourselves embroiled in the kind of environmental challenges we're facing in 2019. Botticelli’s "Birth of Venus," and other classic depictions of nature and mythology, for our contemporary minds reinforces the idea that something close to a natural paradise on Earth is not completely impossible. My 'Clamshell without Venus' is intended as a different kind of visual commentary.

This image was actually inspired by a rusted covering at the base of a street corner utility pole. The ornamental clamp reminded me of Botticelli’s clamshell but no, I did not imagine myself as Venus. The goal I set was to create an abstract interpretation of how today's environmental issues would challenge the creation of classic European paintings while nature itself continues to assert its chromatic splendor whether in states of decay or revitalization. Not so sure how close I got with this mixed-media digital painting. But I'm hoping it captures something of the environmental realities of our times, from fires raging in Antarctica (something unthinkable 50 years ago) to islands of plastic floating in the oceans, and the mass migrations of both humans and animals.

I also hope it helps inspire taking the corrective actions everybody knows are possible and needed. Some people call that activism. Some call it exercising common sense. I have friends who describe it as showing compassion for the Earth and I'm happy to support that concept because to show compassion for the Earth, ultimately, is to practice compassion for ourselves. That I deal with this topic in the story titled 'Trees Down Everywhere' published in Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah might say something about how much it means to me and many others.

Aberjhani
Encyclopedia of the Harlem Renaissance
Dreams of the Immortal City Savannah

Uploaded

August 14th, 2019

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