Connection

The connection between Langston Hughes' poetry and the artwork of Zephyr is as much about their backgrounds as it is their work. Zephyr and Langston Hughes' both grew up in New York. Zephyr grew up in the Bronx, in New York. He stayed out of gangs and violence, and instead chose to express himself through art. He continuously uses his background for his art, and expresses graffiti on subway maps, street signs and buses. This piece in particular is on a wall in Harlem. Though it doesn't have much of a meaning from the actual word, the shapes, location and colors represent where he came from and the connection to New York. Langston Hughes poem is similar to the artwork of Zephyr because it connect with this background in Harlem. Coming out of the Harlem Renaissance, Hughes' has always embraced his background and and his childhood in his work. It is evident in this poem. He talks about a funeral in Harlem and what a normal funeral is like. You get an understanding for the neighborhood he lives an and the struggles that he had to experience. I think that these two pieces connect very well because of the context of both pieces of work. Turn the Corner