black and white

I did something a little different this evening: I went to an art reception.
Perhaps I would not have gone had I understood which pieces were to be shown...
but I'm glad I was there.
I knew the showcase was Axelle Kieffer's work, one of my flotation friends, and I had not yet made it to any of her previous exhibits. When I had seen the title of this one, "Black/Light//White/Noise", I had immediately thought about the installation she was creating with donated clothing. I had several pieces that had been incorporated and so I was quite excited to see them in person. Woohoo!
As Snoopy would say, "It was a dark and stormy night". Except, let's change "stormy" to "drizzly", and let's add "cold". There, that captures the setting outside the venue, In Vino Veritas, a brightly lit little bar on Lincoln.
(You like all that alliteration? I sure do! But what say we return to the topic?)
(smile)
The walls were blank spaces, save the many works of hers. And those pieces, all composed of primarily black and white, were of all sizes, with the larger ones separate from the groupings of smaller ones.

This was one that I returned to
again and again,
while awaiting the artist's arrival.
A huge piece, it rivaled in size
that given to me by
Bill the artist.
This was simply titled: "Portrait".
I wasn't yet wearing my glasses, though,
so I did not see the title.
What I did see was
a painting awash in shadows,
darkness swirling,
around a dark-haired heroine.
By the fourth or fifth viewing,
I had donned my glasses and
saw the enormous face as well.
When Axelle finally entered,
I brought her to this painting
to compliment her on the two images.

She had no idea what I was talking about.
She truly did not.
She insisted that she had intended only
to portray a tormented face.
She could not see the other image
until I traced the outline
of the warrior princess,
running my index finger
over the left-hand half,
much as I have done here
with the aid of color.
You see her, right?
Holding a massive stick
and preparing to fight monsters?
I see her clearly.
Perhaps that perception
is based on my looking for
the bright side, as I told Axelle.
Perhaps that perception
is from deep in my psyche
as I look for my Wonder Woman
as her birthday draws near.
Perhaps.