It was nice working with Fordham University on their latest magazine cover as they address issues of racism and injustice ✊🏾🖤
They also wrote a piece about me and my work, Behind the Cover: Together We Rise See the full article here!
BY RYAN STELLABOTTE ON DECEMBER 21, 2020
Our cover story for the fall/winter print edition of Fordham Magazine is about the University’s plan, developed and published in June 2020, to fight racism and educate for justice.
To illustrate the story, “A Communal Reckoning,” we commissioned Bronx artist Laura James, a painter and illustrator who specializes in sacred images and scenes of everyday life. James uses vibrant colors and draws on Ethiopian Christian iconography in her work, an influence evident in the wide, almond-shaped eyes of the people she depicts.
“Those eyes—they’re all over in Ethiopian art, but especially in the churches,” she said. “They often have angels painted on the walls, just heads and wings with these great big eyes, and [the idea is] that they’re watching you, they’re protecting you.”
For Together We Rise, the painting featured on the cover, James worked with Fordham Magazine art director Ruth Feldman. She chose to depict the story’s “secular theme with that ancient style,” she said, and with Fordham’s Keating Hall and Edwards Parade in the background.
Add a Comment