The first public acknowledgment of the [ELEMENTAL] project came June 25, 1993, when the journalist John Ryan published a story titled "Kindred Spirits," along with a photo of Aberjhani and I by Wayne Moore, in the Savannah College of Art and Design's (SCAD) former weekly newspaper, The Georgia Guardian. At that time, the book's working title was "The Way of All Light." It later changed to "The Light and the Way of Luther E. Vann," and later still to "Elemental," then to "Illuminated Love." The name on which we finally settled felt like one most descriptive of the book's personality: ELEMENTAL The Power of Illuminated Love .



In The Georgia Guardian article, Ryan described our work in progress as follows: "Painting in a style that has been likened to the Italian pittuna metaphysica tradition as well as some of the more powerful African traditions of craftsmanship, Vann's paintings seem to embody the same philosophies that Aberjhani has been exploring through his poetry. In many of Vann's works, representational figures recline against backgrounds of rich color, enlightened with halos and peering across the canvas through beams of light. Likewise, Aberjhani's poetry tackles strong religious concepts and rejoices in the power of spirituality. Together, the two fit together like puzzle pieces."



Luther E. Vann

from ELEMENTAL: The Power of Illuminated Love