Art, Film, Photography, Books, RattleBag and Rhubarb

Sail Away – Oceans, Seas, Rivers, and Rainstorms

There’s a lovely exhibit currently on show at the Morgan Library. It’s the work of artist-illustrator Ashley Bryan (see below for the Morgan’s description.)

Many of the pieces are collages in the vibrant colors of the kind of elementary school construction paper. I could imagine school group trips and the response to the words and the pictures as inspiring “I could do that” responses”. For these are deceptively simple illustrations and collages often with poems cut from the books taped on the paper.

Upsilimana Tumpalerado and the Turtle

 

 

Turtle Knows Your Name 1988 with words and illustrations by Bryan is based on a Caribbean folk-tale. A wise old turtle helps the boy with the very long name discover the name of his grandmother. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seascape

The Trip to San Francisco

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F for Freedom

 

 

“There are words like Freedom
Sweet and wonderful to say
On my heart-strings freedom sings
All day everyday.”

  • Langston Hughes, Refugee in America 1943

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paula The Cat

Paula the cat is as happy as house cats can be. But she finds a boat locked up in a moat and has the urge to go off to sea.

And so she does – but without an owl and a pot of honey wrapped up in a five-pound not. 

The poem is by Nikki Giovanni from her collection I am loved. 

 

Cover for The Sun is so Quiet” 1995 – poems by Nikki Giovanni.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The exhibit is a spirit-lifting delight. Catch it if you can.

Ashley Bryan & Langston Hughes: Sail Away at the Morgan Library

Watercolor showing three quarter view of stylized figure holding yellow flower with hands pressed against eachother. Yellow, green, blue and brown waves are in the background.
September 30, 2022 through January 22, 2023

Throughout his long life and career, the artist Ashley Bryan created and illustrated children’s books that celebrated Black life and Black creativity. This exhibition focuses on his 2015 book Sail Away, in which Bryan paired poems by Langston Hughes on the subject of water—oceans, seas, rivers, and rainstorms—with his own vibrant cut-paper collages. The original collages, now in the Morgan’s permanent collection, will be joined by paintings, prints, photographs, recordings, and some work in unusual formats, such as Bryan’s puppets made from sea glass, shells, and other found materials, to explore the conversation between these two great Black artists and the role of seas and rivers in their work.

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21 thoughts on “Sail Away – Oceans, Seas, Rivers, and Rainstorms

  1. I don’t know if I have ever been in the Morgan Library. Is it one of the surviving Gilded Era mansions in NYC (maybe on 5th avenue?) This exhibit is lovely and lively! Thank you for brightening my day with this blog post..

    1. Yes, Gilded Era. Morgan was one of the so-called robber barons of the time. Born into wealth, he made a whole lot more. He spent a lot of his money amassing a huge collection of books, manuscripts and valuable artifacts. He had to extend his house to accommodate them. The library and museum are in what was his private residence on Madison Avenue and 36th Street.

  2. I clicked “Like,’ but it wouldn’t ‘take.’ Apparently it sailed away when it saw me coming! :’c

  3. So many of Ashley Bryan’s collages would make stunning stained glass windows. This is an exhibit I wish I was back in NY to visit in person, especially to see which poems by Langston Hughes and Nikki Giovanni (and others?) are paired with Bryan’s artwork.

    1. And then the amazing thing – you go downstairs from the exhibit and there you are in the grand room -Morgan’s library – with the first edition of “Paradise Lost “and all the rest of it.

Comment. Your thoughts welcome.