Along the journey to understand his mother’s past, James McBride comes to an epiphany: “the greatest gift that anyone can give anyone else is life”. I hold onto a similar idea, that acknowledging another human being’s existence is one of the greatest things we can do for each other. In paying homage to his mother, McBride provides proof of [not sure if this is the right phrase, it feels a little clunky to me; you acknowledge someone’s existence, you don’t tend to prove it] her existence and ultimately proof of his own. I paint in order to provide proof, for myself and others; to mark points in time and to hold onto the essence of memories.
Mr. McBride’s detailed accounts of relationships awaken memories of my own. While these interactions are personal to draw on his experience, the overall theme of the importance of family, faith, and education transcends. The paintings I have created inspired by his novel, The Color of Water, are meant to shine another light on their story and reiterate the strength of family love.
I begin with the symbol of an hour glass to mark the transitions that both James McBride and his mother Ruth move through. The first composition tells of Ruth’s story. At the top center, the dark navy and green reference her childhood in the rural Virginia and her abusive father as well as the segregation she faced as a Jewish girl in the south. At the point of this triangle there is a transition to warmer colors acknowledging some kinder relationships from her youth. The bottom half of the “hour glass” depicts her rebirth as a Christian and her new life in New York City with peach and grey colors. At the top point of her “future triangle” there still remains some darkness from her past but the warmer colors grow as her family grows. The saturated gold represents her faith on which her new life rests. On either side of the center point, there are light green and blue colors that do not fit into the box of her Jewish background nor into the black community that she finds in the city. These colors display that while Ruth’s identity is made up of both her past and future histories she also exists outside of these communities as a unique individual.
To the left of Ruth’s hourglass, there is blue representing faith and, to the right, gold representing education. These colors become more saturated with the passing of time (from top to bottom) and the weight of them marks their significance in raising her family. This same blue and gold also surround Mr. McBride’s story. The colors that represent his mother’s story run through the first half of McBride’s hourglass, in a wavy, disordered way to show that he has not yet made sense of his mother’s past and therefore is not at peace with his own identity. The transition of his story moves on to the gold that signifies the his mother’s strength, her lessons of family love and faith.
The grey and navy columns on either side of McBride’s composition are the same colors that frame his mother’s story. This is to acknowledge that both histories exist within the conflict of prejudices, but the power of family love, that is the lesson of this novel, is at the center and radiates outward.
The relationship between James McBride and his mother balance on each other out. McBride exists because his mother gave him life and her story lives on because of his words. In addition to the hour glass reference, the “X” motif represents the intertwined relationship of McBride and his mother. It depicts an entity held up by another from a single point illustrating the way his mother supported the family and later the way her children supported her. It can also signify a crossroads. Overall, the colors are contrasting but balanced – telling of the different races, faiths, personalities and settings that make up the story.
The middle section of the mural resembles waves referencing movement and water. Water is an important symbol in both the Christian and Jewish faiths that make up Ruth’s and James’ identity. In both faiths water is used in baptism – noting the theme of rebirth in the story. For Jewish as well as black communities water brings to mind the Exodus story, in which Moses parts the sea for the Israelites to escape persecution. This composition acknowledges the exile Ruth faced when her family turned their backs on her. Water is a symbol of both movement through life and rebirth. The grey and navy that represent oppression in the first part of the mural appear again as obstacles interrupting the flow of water. The blue and gold colors, which represent education and faith, run through the center of the “river” pushing past the symbols of hardships. This acknowledges the social injustices and racial conflicts both James and Ruth face throughout their lives. The composition also brings to mind a bar of music – significant to movement forward [not entirely clear] in McBride’s life.
The significance of the title The Color of Water comes from a conversation between James and his mother when he is grappling with racial identities and asks his mother what color God is; – she replies that “God is the color of water”. The “wave” in the center of this mural is made up of many colors to shine a light on this moment.
I ended the piece with a circle to represent the eternal. It references the sun, something holy, infinite. The circle just touches the edges of the frame to create an energy that embraces, a hum of light that appears about to burst. It depicts yellow warmth coming out of grey. The warmth would not be as strong if it wasn’t next to greyness - an attempt to illustrate the hardships that both Ruth and James moved through.
Overall, this is a color story highlighting the importance of human interaction. Being able to retell Mr. McBride’s story with color is a way to give thanks for his example of family love – honoring his family, honoring my family and all families.