Hallelujah

Hallelujah. Ken Smith, Sculptor. , The root meaning of the world hallelujah is an expression of joy, praise and gratitude. Certainly slaves in America upon securing their freedom were overcome with joy, praise, and gratitude. As such freedom became a celebration of perseverance, courage, and faith., Slaves' constant quest for freedom is all too often minimalized because of the gross stereotyped misrepresentation of the bondsmen and women as happy, servile, and content. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. From the time of the African's capture in his/her homeland, during the Middle Passage and on the plantation, thoughts and hopes of freedom always loomed large., Expressions of hallelujah have been common in the spiritual and religious lives of African-Americans for centuries and certainly the genesis of these emotions can be traded back to daily struggles of slave forbears enduring and overcoming the daily indignities of slavery in America., This statue represents the pain, tears and untimely deaths of the millions who never gave up on their belief that one day they would be free , Hallelujah is testament to their indomitable Spirit of Freedom., Ken Smith, Artist (1942 - ) , Ken Smith started out as an artist in Bronx, New York and had scholarships to two art schools, but decided to join the U.S. Navy and see the world. That started a long break from art while he went on to become a physician and surgeon. At the age of 15, he began to sculpt stone and other media. He has worked in terra cotta, wood, and bronze but now prefers to work in stone., Ken Smith now lives, works and teaches in historic Staunton, Virginia., Others have described Ken's art as expressionistic, figurative sculpture. His main interest is in creating rhythms of light, and dark in his pieces and he strives to couple these dynamics with simulating and sometimes disturbing themes. He also wants his pieces to invite the outstretched hand and enhance the experience with his art., Hallelujah depicts the allegorical moment of acknowledgement of the Emancipation Proclamation and the declaring of "Hallelujah". This work is the companion of Freedom's Acumin that is in the collection of Brookgreen Garden in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina., The stone used for Hallelujah is Steatite or Black Soapstone, which was quarried in Schuyler, Virginia.