The Black Pearl
Here’s a painting that emerged from my 20s and early 30s, when I found myself wandering through the belief systems of Eastern religion, mingled together with the heavy influence of African art and music. Somewhere I read a Buddhist folktale about a mysterious black pearl that hangs at the center of the universe – a still and silent point shining in the black firmament of non-duality. In my imagination, I saw the material world rotating around this point in the form of a circular tapestry – and like a hybrid child of two traditions, this image formed.
The tiger hails from Hinduism, as I was attending a kirtan (chanting circle) at the time, and was given the Sanskrit name Durga. This became my pen name, as my first children’s books were published around that time, and it stuck for twenty years. As a major goddess in the Hindu pantheon, Durga is always seen riding a lion or tiger. She’s a warrior, fighting evil with sacred syllables and sounds rather than force – but in my rendition, she sleeps on the back of the tiger. Together, woman and tiger form a symbol of several forms of duality: the feminine anima joining with the masculine animus; the transcendent soul joining with our earthly, animal nature; and the unconscious joining with active consciousness (the woman’s eyes are closed; the tiger’s are wide open). Not to mention cool and warm colors in harmonious juxtaposition. I was in heaven, playing with all these forces of “visual physics.”
Harkening to the Hindu concept of Maya, the material world is represented as a permeable veil or fabric of complex geometric patterns and objects of everyday life – that is, African village life, which I longed for at the time with all my young and idealistic heart. The patterns you see here hail from West African mud cloths, a coarsely-woven fabric dyed with a special fermented river mud. I collected them at the time, and even integrated one or two into my paintings.
The Black Pearl is typical of the “white outline” phase of my art. The white lines are actually the paper showing through. I probably did about 100 paintings plus several children’s books in this style, but curiously, I can’t seem to do it anymore. Sometimes I try, but it doesn’t work with my ideas – or rather, the ideas themselves seem to veto the technique, perhaps because white outlines have a way of flattening objects, and my work has evolved in a different direction. It’s frustrating sometimes, but experience has taught me that forcing a technique on a painting always ends in failure. In this sense, an artist serves their inspiration rather than the other way around.
The original painting of The Black Pearl sold very quickly. Subsequently, someone else wanted it so badly that she commissioned me to create a second, larger version, with the elements of the “fabric” tailored to express her lifestyle. I had mixed feelings about doing that. I often like to create multiple versions of the same core idea, but doing it for someone else was difficult. The buyer seemed pleased with the result, and hung it in her physical therapy office. The first buyer is also a healer, of a different sort. I just never know where my art will end up.
A good week to all!
D. Yael Bernhard
https://dyaelbernhard.com
Have you seen my other Substack, The Art of Health? In addition to being a visual artist, I’m also a certified integrative health & nutrition coach with a lifelong passion for natural food cooking and herbal medicine. Now in its second year, this illustrated newsletter explores cutting-edge concepts of nutrition. I strive to make relevant information clear and accessible, and to anchor essential health concepts in unique images. Check it out, and if you like it, please subscribe and help spread the word. Your support keeps my work going!although it appears several cars have parked there anyway.