Speak with Care
Artist’s Statement:
This is a traditional red-on-black figure with hands close to the face—one hand making a shushing gesture by the mouth, and the other hand emphasizing the action. My initial thought when I read this value was, “If you’ve got nothing nice to say, then don’t say anything.”
I decided to depict a shushing man, primarily in red-on-black, because it creates a memorable look for an important value. Many times, I would have been better off if someone had reminded me to watch my mouth.
Usually, when I depict elders or our cultural people, I use the red-on-black effect. If an elder told me to “shush,” I would have been very self-conscious about what I said and would have watched my words going forward.
Artist: John Trout