Praise the Rain

Joy Harjo, Muscogee (Creek) Nation, American born 1951. 

Poet Laureate of the United States,  2019-2022

 

 

 

 

The Raven 1980, oil on canvas. 

Jamie Wyeth, American born 1946, Brandywine Museum, Chadds Ford, PA

 

 

 

Cool Grey, 2019, oil on canvas. 

Joanne Funkhouser currently in the BFA program at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia in 2020

 

 

                                              the warrior name

 

Head of a Warrior, 1933, plaster, metal, wood.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish, 1881-1973. MOMA, NY

 

 

 

The earth eclipse, the fired leap—

 

Simone Biles III, 2019, oil and glitter on canvas. (Born Athlete, 2017- 2019) 

Jeanette Mundt, American born 1982.  Loaned by various private parties to the Whitney Biennial, 2019

 

 

Praise the backwards, upward sky

The baby cry, the spirit food—

 

 

An altar dedicated to the Yoruba deity, Yemaya ; 2019, candles, seashells, fruit, plate, vase, flowers, fabric, glass jars of molasses and rum.

Ja’Tovia Gary, American born 1984. MOMA, NY

“Healing is at the root of the work,” Gary explains. “Making art is a transformative process that transmutes pain or trauma into something beautiful, useful, functional, instructive.”

 

 

Praise canoe, the fish rush

 

Feather Canoe, 1993, peeled willow, white feathers, and copper wire

Truman Lowe, 1944-2019, Ho-Chunk Nation. Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

A recollection of the Great Lakes canoes of his childhood and the walks with his father to gather the willows used in basketmaking and canoe building.

 

 

The hole for frog, the upside-down—

 

Mt. Cuba Center, Hockessin, Delaware

 

 

Praise the day,

 

And so the White Rabbit continues to be late for a very important date, 2017, watercolour on paper

Charles Santore, 1935-2019,American.  Collection of the artist from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

 

 

                                                  the cloud cup

The mind flat, forget it all—

 

Study for The Dreamer (Caroline Kilby Smith), 1894, umber and white chalk on beige primed canvas. 

Cecilia Beaux, 1855-1942, American. Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia

 

 

Praise crazy.

2012

 

 

                                                    Praise sad.

 

The Parents, from War, 1921-22, woodcut

Käthe Kollwitz, 1867-1945, German.  Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

 

 

Watermill, 1892, oil on canvas

Frits Thaulow, 1847-1906, Norwegian. Philadelphia Art Museum

 

 

The Gypsy, 1897; oil on canvas. 

Henri Rousseau, 1844-1910, French.  MOMA, New York

The artist said that the lion does not harm the recumbent itinerant gypsy woman; but that is a different story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Yerres, Effect of Rain (L’Yerres, effet de pluie), 1875, oil on canvas.

Gustave Caillebotte, 1848-1894, French. 

Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University, Bloomington.  Photo from their website.

 

 

                                                   it brings more rain.

 

 

 

 

 

PRAISE SONG

from Conflict Resolution for Holy Beings, 2015. 

Joy Harjo

 

Praise the rain; the seagull dive

The curl of plant, the raven talk—

Praise the hurt, the house slack

The stand of trees, the dignity—

Praise the dark, the moon cradle

The sky fall, the bear sleep—

Praise the mist, the warrior name

The earth eclipse, the fired leap—

Praise the backwards, upward sky

The baby cry, the spirit food—

Praise canoe, the fish rush

The hole for frog, the upside-down—

Praise the day, the cloud cup

The mind flat, forget it all—

Praise crazy. Praise sad.

Praise the path on which we’re led.

Praise the roads on earth and water.

Praise the eater and the eaten.

Praise beginnings; praise the end.

Praise the song and praise the singer.

Praise the rain; it brings more rain.

Praise the rain; it brings more rain.