Description (calligraphy is excerpt from Walt Whitman poetry))Walt WhitmanI hear America singing, the varied carols I hear,Those of mechanics, each one singing his as it should be blithe and strong,The carpenter singing his as he measures his plank or beam,The mason singing his as he makes ready for work,or leaves off work,The boatman singing what belongs to him in his boat, the deckhand singing on the steamboat deck,The shoemaker singing as he sits on his bench, the hatter singing as he stands,The wood-cutter's song, the ploughboy's on his way in the morning,or at noon intermission or at sundown,The delicious singing of the mother, or of the young wife at work,or of the girl sewing or washing,Each singing what belongs to him or her and to none else,The day what belongs to the day--at night the party of young fellows, robust, friendly,Singing with open mouths their strong melodious songs. I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame,I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done,I see in low life the mother misused by her children, dying,neglected, gaunt, desperate,I see the wife misused by her husband, I see the treacherous seducer of young women,I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love attempted to be hid, I see these sights on the earth,I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny, I seemartyrs and prisoners,I observe a famine at sea, I observe the sailors castinglots who shall be kill'd to preserve the lives of the rest,I observe the slights and degradations cast byarrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;All these-all the meanness and agony without end Isitting look out upon,See, hear, and am silent.
Huang Xiang And William Rock, New York City Member Since February 2008 Artist Statement The Century Mountain Project - The Chinese poet and calligrapher Huang Xiang and American artist William Rock create a "visual dialogue across humanity."
The Century Mountain Project is an East / West collaboration of art between the Chinese poet Huang Xiang and American artist William Rock.
Their collaborative art honors the greatness in us as human beings that has made itself evident throughout the centuries in the form of outstanding creators, thinkers, discoverers, leaders -- essentially people who stood out like mountains throughout the centuries.
The ongoing collaborative artwork between Huang Xiang and William Rock is a celebration of the vast potential in each one of us. It has no cultural, gender or race distinctions.
After a subject is discussed and selected, William Rock will paint it and Huang Xiang will add his poetry and calligraphy. They share an inherent trust of spirit which allows them to create art that unites, connects and celebrates humanity.
Mozart, Van Gogh, Lincoln, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Emily Dickinson, you and I are connected. Let's all climb Century Mountain.