ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love

("Memories, Cousin Ozena" by Luther E. Vann)

If I were to put a number on all the things for which I am grateful in 2008, at the very least that number would be 320 because that's how many sunrises I have seen thus far this year. Days are not something I take for granted, for in the immortal words of the great rhythm and blues singer Dinah Washington, "what a difference a day makes." Indeed, the events that transpire within a single day can overturn the history of centuries, mark our hearts with sorrow, or empower our souls with joy.

Among the blessings of 2008 that have given me reasons to gratefully celebrate has been the publication of my book with the artist Luther E. Vann: ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love . ELEMENTAL is not only a blessing because it finally saw the light of day after a 17-year struggle to get it published, but because so many enriched the title with their diverse contributions to it.

One of those contributing individuals was Ozena W. Wilcox (Dec 5, 1908- Nov 14, 2008) whose incandescently painted portrait adorns page 3 of ELEMENTAL. Although it was never my privilege to greet Ozena in person, I treasured the honor of getting to know her to some extent through the vibrant expressionistic colors and multidimensional perspective in Vann's portrait of his cousin.

Through Vann's eyes and palette-filled with the swirling energies of violet, pink, green, yellows, and mahogany-- one can find it easy to see and salute the dynamic individuality that marked her singular being. The depth and intensity of wisdom and love accumulated throughout Ozena's 100 years in this world can be measured to some degree by the spectral memories and presences that dwell in the portrait just above her head. They encircle, motivate, sustain, and define her in ways at which we can only guess. The painted colors of that love and wisdom continue to bless not only this author, but many others as well.

And for that I truly am very grateful.

By Aberjhani

(photo of Luther E. Vann by John Schmidt)

Luther E. Vann had the advantage of growing up during the 1940s and 1950s in both the city of his birth, Savannah, Georgia, and that of his parents' adopted home, New York City. The former city continues to provide him with inspiring subject matter while the latter provided him with the bulk of his formal training.

As a developing artist, Vann's life in New York City during the mid-twentieth century exposed him to the works of Harlem Renaissance artists such as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Ernest Crichlow, Beauford Delaney, Norman Lewis, and Augusta Fells Savage. In that very concrete sense, his life and work represent a direct link to the Harlem Renaissance.

In addition to studying at the Art Students League in New York, he also studied at the New School for Social Research and at the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Studio. His artistic expressiveness encompasses virtually every visual medium: painting, photography, sculpture, and digital creations.

Vann has been the recipient of a number of grants, including funding from the New York State Council for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Georgia Council for the Arts. A first-place prize winner in the 1996 Georgia Arts Festival, his work has hung in group and solo exhibitions through the United States and around the world, including at the Beach Institute in Savannah, the Cinque Gallery in New York City, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Museum of Arts, and the Telfair Museum. Among his most recent shows was a 2006 exhibition at the Hurn Museum in Savannah followed by the museum's traveling exhibition in Florence, Italy. His work showed as well to critical acclaim in 2007 at the Urban Arts in Alpharetta, Georgia. He also participated at the end of 2007 in the Holiday Fundraiser Exhibition held at the Indigo Sky Community Gallery founded by Jerome Meadows in Savannah.

In addition to hanging in private collections on several continents, Vann's works are also part of public collections like those in the Montclair Art Museum in Montclair, New Jersey; Medgar Evers College in Brooklyn, New York; the King-Tisdell Cottage in Savannah, and the Telfair Museum of Art. Savannah's Abyssinia Baptist Church commissioned the artist to create stained glass depicting the establishment of the Ethiopian church, the first organized Christian church, from Acts 8.

The latter part of 2007 saw Vann continue to challenge himself and grow as an artist by contributing images for two book covers, one the poetry collection entitled The Bridge of Silver Wings; and the other for a novel called Christmas When Music Almost Killed the World. He continues to expand the boundaries of his creative expression with digital creations that fuse elements of original art with photography and design. He participated as well in

As his first book, Elemental: The Power of Illuminated Love, went to press, the artist was completing the construction of a studio gallery in his back yard.