Hannah Moland, Window. Ithaca, NY, 2021

“My square is inspired by a scene from Morrison's novel Song of Solomon in which Macon Dead, Jr. stops behind his estranged sister Pilate's house. It's dark, he hides among the trees and undergrowth because he is ashamed of his relatives. But he watches the lighted-up window and hears their voices singing, which moves him and gives him spiritual sustenance, in spite of himself. This ability of art and nature to comfort the spirit in spite of estrangement, alienation, and tragedy emerges often as a theme in Morrison's work and is what I try to convey with my square.”