Project Description

I never knew what it meant to have a father past the age of seven. Most of my references for fatherhood came from men in church, my extended family, or in the media. These experiences caused me to notice an emerging trend. Stereotypically, in my experience, fathers usually fall into three distinct roles. Disciplinarian, absentee, and/or simply uninvolved. These roles are embodied in phrases such as “Just wait until your father gets home!” or “when’s your birthday again?” or blatantly “I just paid child support”. My painting is referring to something that I never got the chance to experience (although no one is at fault since my father passed when I was seven), which is the loving father who plays an active role in his family. This painting is a celebration of the father who doesn’t leave all of the emotional hardships on the mother and gets distant because they have yet to work out their own personal demons. This is for the father who cares. In the same breadth as a painting of Mary holding Jesus, I am attempting to highlight a tender moment between a father and his child, a moment that I hope to one day experience with my own child.

Location

Metro Center North Bound
KC Streetcar Shelter

Bio

Isaiah Lee is an artist and teacher born in Kansas City, Missouri. He received his BSE in 2023 and specializes in the arts for grades k-12. Isaiah Lee’s personal work dives into the exciting world of color as well as inter and intrapersonal relationships.

Website | www.Isaiahleestudios.com 

Instagram | @isaiahleeart