Artist: David Habben
Title: Son
Medium: Aquarelle and graphite on paper
Unframed Dimensions: 7 x 7 inches
Framed Dimensions: 10 x 10 inches
Price: $500
Artist Statement: This work was created in response to Matthew Thomas Nagel's poem, "Blessing My Son", featured in Volume 44, No. 3, Fall 2011 issue of Dialogue. The poem's text offers the unspoken thoughts of the father, blessing his son internally beyond the outward markers of discipleship within the LDS faith. As a father myself, I know that struggle deeply; wanting our children to be more than just check marks and also be able to fully engage with the ups and downs of existence as they develop virtuous character traits. The image of the cloud comes up frequently in my work as a representation of the amorphous nature of understanding and growth. Here, the monotone legs of the figure contrast to the colorful being climbing out of the cloud; becoming their full self and bearing all the markers of individual growth and experience.
Artist Bio: David Habben is an artist and illustrator based in Lehi, Utah. He received a BFA in Illustration from Brigham Young University and an MFA in Studio Art from The University of Utah. His work has received awards from The Society of Illustrators, Communication Arts, 3x3 Illustration Magazine, and included in the permanent collections of the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. David is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Design’s Illustration Program at Brigham Young University.
