Hold Fast to Dreams

There are three powerful images in this deaf artwork. It comes from Langston Huges poem. In the poem, Langston describes a bird with a broken wing. On contract, The image on the canvas has the sign in white... " white bird" flying out to freedom. Next in his poem, Langston depicts an empty and cold field. In the artwork. there are hands pulling the man down , it shows that the hands are trying to prevent a person from succeed. In Langston's poem, both of these images act as metaphors comparing a life without dreams to a bird that can't fly and an empty/cold field. The artwork shows a man standing with a fist in the air as if it is trying to hold on to a dream. In other word, the sign (bird) will not fly if we don't stand up for ourselves. If we flip this artwork upside down, it will show a black man laying on the ground and the bird crashing on the sidewalk while the hands are holding the person on the ground. That was the wake up time and action for Black Lives Movement.

Fred Michael Beam

Hold Fast to Dreams

2021

Acrylic painting

The image of the square is in gold on left top side of canvas. It represent a window shedding the blessing or scattered glory. The white bird is created in sign. (two white hands folding). the bird trying to exit the window to freedom while the black man ( in bronze and gold) standing with fist in the air in the middle. Beneath that man's torso, there are white/gold hands trying to pull this man down.