At first glance, I knew automatically that this piece needed to be in Levitate. It gave me Frida Kahlo vibes because of the vibrant flower crown and the pose. It just spoke to me. As an artist myself, I could see the beauty in every stroke. The colors especially drew me in. I really enjoyed the simple colors being used in the piece. The blue, red and yellow stood out to me, each able to stand out among the other strong colors.
Blue usually means sadness or despair in some sort of way, so I like that there was a very subtle use of it in this piece, where it isn’t the main focus but it is still there. In this piece there is only one main focus, one person. The red, yellow, and orange on the flower crown stands out so well since the face of the person is all white with hints of blue shadows. The head tilted back makes me think of letting go. When you tilt your head back with eyes closed, you usually are taking a deep breath, then letting go of the breath. What I especially liked about this piece is that it’s simply beautiful. There isn’t any underlying meaning to it other than the theme being “solitude and isolation to the very existence of human existence in the society that condemns,” as Tomislav Šilipetar explains. All the pieces in the series are each similar to each other, meaning that they all look to be created by the same artist. His colors, strokes and style are unique. However, what made this piece in particular stand out from the rest, was the way the cream-colored background really made the rest of the colors pop out. It created a great frame for the piece, making it really stand out in my eyes. The piece is messy but it’s a creative mess! The strokes are deliberate and put there to tie everything together. If the strokes were careful and precise, then I feel like the whole feeling the piece gives out will be lost.
I wanted this piece to be in the Levitate magazine since the moment I saw it. I just knew that it would give the magazine the colorfulness it needed. I’m glad that the rest of my team agreed with me in accepting this piece for Levitate magazine.
My name is Aaliyah Cruz, I am a Levitate art and prose editor. I am drawn to raw, real writing and art pieces.
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