Man Reaching for a Star

Man Reaching For A Star is one of the seven abstract paintings from Morris Louis's Charred Journal series. The Charred Journal is a series of paintings responding to Nazi's burning of Jewish literature carried out during the Second World War. The most obvious symbol from this particular painting is the Star of David in the center of the composition. While the darken background represents burned book pages, the white forms of letters and numbers are "rising like ashes from the charred page". With these implications, this particular painting may carry the meaning of destruction and revival, delivering a sense of hope to the audience.