Sensualized transcendence: Editorial and poem on the art of Jaanika Talts (part 2 of 2) - by Aberjhani


          “The Universe said, ‘let me show your soul something
           beautiful.’” 
               ––Aberjhani (from ELEMENTAL, The Power of
                     Illuminated Love)


If emergent expressionism lends chromatic form and substance to in-between states of metamorphosis, then transformative impressionism may be described as endowing such stages of transition with metaphorical narrative. These are images by Jaanika Talts in which her literary inclinations are most apparent and they evoke a clear theme, scene, symbol, or principle.

The artist’s depictions of mythology’s (as well as history’s and literature’s) Venus and Cupid, The Siren’s Dream, Ophelia, and Salome are a few of the canvases and digital art compositions which borrow cues from classic stories. What makes them uniquely engaging is her own finely-honed perspective, which seems as culturally expansive as it is aesthetically versatile. She is equally comfortable with more contemporary references in the mode of Hollywood screen legends like Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardener, and Sophia Loren. Their images at her touch take on a quality of regal finish that is both innovative and archetypal.

With Talts’ ability to produce highly-original art which speaks as eloquently to the heart and soul as it does to the intellect, it is not surprising that her labors have begun to inspire efforts by creative talents in different mediums. The poet Richard Michael Parker  has paired several poems with work by the artist. Videos on YouTube (and posted with this article) have both employed her art as background imagery and focused on the art itself as the video’s subject. The following original poem, titled Realms of Emerging Light (and written by this author) is presented in that same spirit of inspiration begetting inspiration. It is also shared in honor of the forthcoming World Poetry Day, March 21:


To read the accompanying poem by Aberjhani in full please click here:
Sensualized transcendence: Editorial and poem on the art of Jaanika Talts (pt 2) - National African-American Art | Examiner.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Year of James Baldwin Now in Full Classic Literary Swing (part 1) - by Aberjhani

Image
Author James Baldwin in St. Paul de Vence, France, 1976. (photo by Dmitri Kasterine) “It has always been much easier (because it has always seemed much safer) to give a name to the evil without than to locate the terror within. And yet, the terror within is far truer and far more powerful than any of our labels: the labels change, the terror is constant.” –James Baldwin, from  the essay Nothing Personal Members of New York City’s cultural arts community made a rare kind of decision earlier this year and the results of that decision continue to generate exceptional events and responses. They–– as in Columbia University School of the Arts, Harlem Stage, and New York Live Arts–– elected to observe The Year of James Baldwin from April 2014 until June 2015 in honor of the late iconoclastic African-American author’s 90th birthday August 2, 2014. Long before he died on December 1, 1987, millions came to recognize the indelible mark...
Read more

THE EXTRAORDINARY TALENT OF BEAUFORD DELANEY

Image
    This 1941 portrait of celebrated author James Baldwin, entitled “Dark Rapture,” is one of numerous masterworks created by the equally celebrated Harlem Renaissance artist Beauford Delaney (1902-1979). Delaney (whose brother Joseph, 1904-1991, was also an accomplished artist) enjoyed a remarkable career that spanned some five decades. That he was a visual artist whose creative aesthetics profoundly influenced the work of a major literary artist like James Baldwin is one indicator of how powerfully charged the creative energy of the Harlem Renaissance truly was. Aberjhani Co-author of ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE HARLEM RENAISSANCE And the author of I MADE MY BOY OUT OF POETRY
Read more

Facing the Challenge of the Unfathomable: #BringBackOurGirls

Image
                     Nigeria and Mother's Day illustration by John Cole for The Times-Tribune . When confronted by something too painful, incredulous, or monstrous to believe, a person will sometimes say, “I  couldn't  even wrap my head around that!” Such was probably one of the main reasons the international community took so long to respond in any meaningful way to the abduction of the almost 300 Chibok school girls in Nigeria. The emotional impact was, and is, not completely unlike that of seeing for the first time a film clip of the aircraft exploding against the Twin Towers on 9/11. It was an image unprecedented in one’s mental model of what reality is supposed to be and therefore an image one was not able to immediately process.   Who could believe that an army of armed adult men would attack and abduct nearly 300 school girls in the middle of the nigh...
Read more