Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Seeing it in Black and White

Seeing a black President entering the White House for the first time today, and seeing so much hope invested in him, as both black and white communities claim him for their own as a new, possible definition of what it can be to be American beyond colour, set me musing......
Musings about the colours themselves, the absence of colour, the possibility of moving beyond colour and the notion of transparency and clarity. Monochrome tones are not what I usually associate with Mexico, as my recent postings on the vibrancy of red, blue and green will testify, but in honour of Obama setting up in the White House, I thought I would see what images I could find to express his union of black and white...

Celebration at Obama's victory was resounding here, so let's start with a truly Mexican image of the Alcatrace lily... a beautiful flower that figures so prominently in the art of one of Mexico's greatest painters, Diego Rivera... (Morelia)


The striking combination of the white water set against the blackness in these two monochromatic images begins to symbolise the union.... ( Fountain in Guanajuato )


(Fountain in the Eduardo Ruiz National Park, Uruapan, Michoacan)


And the swirling of black, white and greys in the clouds, rocks, fog, snow, mist and hail at the crater of the Nevado de Toluca Volcano (shot in May! ) suggests movement beyond colour...

The final image is a reminder that beauty and symbolism can be found in the most ordinary of objects... the hope of transparency and clarity shining in a newly-shaped translucent world...



Recycling container for plastic bottles ( Chapultepec Park, Mexico City )

How would you express what this special day means for you??

6 comments:

Cecile/DreamCreateRepeat said...

We are so hopeful that President Obama will bring the progressive/liberal agenda to the forefront: diplomacy over military, social agenda over politics of fear.

A Cuban In London said...

I loved you post. I loved the way it curled up around me and enveloped me with its beautiful aroma (oh, yes, I can smell posts, too!). The images are perfect and the words were nicely strategically put. Many thanks.

Greetings from London.

Tess Kincaid said...

Lovely way to look at the new fresh day for our world.

I love the art of Diego Rivera, by the way.

Catherine said...

Thanks Cuban...you have pretty purple prose yourself!! Out of interest what were the smells summoned up??
Hi Cecile and Willow thanks for the appreciative comments..

Glennis said...

Like your fountain photo, the black and white makes it so much better, stands out.

A Cuban In London said...

I loved that second picture (top to bottom). It's amazing. You found the right balance, too, because the fountain splits the image into two symmetrically.

Many thanks.

Greetings from London.