When
Words Fail
Our hope for a benevolent future lies in the quality of the moral fabric we weave together with our children.
Caravaggio’s painting, entitled The Inspiration of Saint Matthew (1602) contains biblical references alluding to the ongoing challenges of keeping a focus in the midst of mounting distractions. St. Matthew, while documenting his revelations, was at a loss for words. Guided by divine intervention through the guise of an angel, he found the inspiration to continue. I am moved by the content of this work, but moreover by Caravaggio’s delight in casting a youthful angel as the motivator. An analogy can be drawn between our children (youth) and salvation. Our hope for a benevolent future lies in the quality of the moral fabric we weave together with our children. How do we keep our children engaged, but mindful of morals and values? Where do we seize the words to explain the incomprehensible? How do we keep our youth from growing up too fast in a global society that showers them with mixed messages at lightening speed?
In emphasizing the unusual mature-like, but pious gestures of young figures, I intend to draw attention to the potential threat of the subject’s pre-mature loss of innocence. My message, among others, is to raise awareness that when words fail, the vision of humanity that our images convey can be read beyond the barrier of languages as a message of peace and well-being. These drawings were conceptualized during the Afghan and Iraqi invasions.