Of the City

I love the out of doors. The beauty of nature - night sky, rocks, trails, trees - all can make me feel very connected to and in awe of the majesty the Great Creation. Breath deeply and nature can fill your heart and soul. The out of doors can fill my being.

But at my core I am a city critter - Urban Girl. American in Paris makes great sense to me; I get the section with the car horns. I like the challenge of traffic. The hustle and bustle of people walking in the city feels right.

Originally this post was going to be about Black History Month, focusing on the art of Jacob Lawrence. Then it was going to be about The Great Migration - telling a story that is not that different from the intimate epics that immigrants live as they journey to a new home. Lawrence's Great Migration series is a visual chronicle of the mass migration of Southern Blacks to places like Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, and Harlem. It is powerful art that is at once specific and universal. It is e.e. cummings and Ma Rainey.

The structure and line of his art, the depth of his colors, the subjects of his work connected with my own urban experiences, and the experience of my family that led my growing up in East L.A.

I'll write my last sentences and then take some time to gaze at the majesty of his work. I'm thankful that remembering to think about Black History Month allowed me to be filled with awe by the work of Jacob Lawrence.

http://www.phillipscollection.org/migration_series/index.cfm

Artwork - Jacob Lawrence in the City, Susan Goldman Rubin (Board book cover)