Converging Grace Number 1 with Text

by Aberjhani

Title

Converging Grace Number 1 with Text

Artist

Aberjhani

Medium

Mixed Media - Silk-featherbrush Painting

Description

Silk-Featherbrush Painting No. 31

“Whatever grace might trickle down from the higher regions of
a given society to the lower is no more essential than
that which rises and converges from
the opposite direction.”
Aberjhani
(from Greeting Flannery O’Connor at the Back Door of My Mind)

The closer I got to completing the book Greeting Flannery O’Connor at the Back Door of My Mind, the more surprised I became to see subjects and themes of the book reflected in news headlines. The surprise was because I started writing it 10 years ago and completed it in early 2020. Because it took so long to finish, I was concerned its focus on the cultural arts, iconic creative individuals, social injustice, and evolving demographics might be of little interest to the public. I was wrong about that.

Controversial or not, Flannery O’Connor has long been one of the world’s most influential literary artists. She has that in common with the book’s other primary celebrity writers: John Berendt and James Alan McPherson. However, O’Connor at one time in her life was also a cartoonist was a true “literary artist.”

As I pointed out on the product page for artwork named after the book (ISBN 1-716-68481-1), I wanted to produce visual art featuring colors associated with her favorite bird: the peacock. Those colors can range from shades of emerald green and sun gold to midnight blue, onyx black, and cloud white. At the same time, I wanted to contribute to ongoing dialogues about the author and towards that end created one edition of CONVERGING GRACE with the text seen here and another without it.

O’Connor fans will likely guess the name of this piece was inspired in part by the title of her short story collection: Everything that Rises Must Converge. Many conversations are currently taking place regarding interpretations of her writings and I’m hoping my own work helps encourage useful dialogues.

Aberjhani
Harlem Renaissance Centennial 2020
https://www.author-poet-aberjhani.info/

Uploaded

August 24th, 2020

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