as you probably know by now, i've been collaging my way through lent, using my hobbie as a way to practice spiritual discipline. each week i have taken the text from worship on the coming sunday, and written it out by hand, struggled with it, played with it, and percolated it in my brain and heart. i've wrestled with words, been overwhelmed with emotion, and cried more than once. it has been a very good experience for me to express my interaction with and response to these ancient texts with something other than words. i hope you've been enjoying it as well.
this week we were dealing with the crucifixion. not my favorite portion of scripture, to be sure, but one that i think merits our careful attention, as well as our broken hearts. as i read it through many times and prayed over it, i was struck by how mark's version uses the words "hurled" and "heaped" in reference to the insults and mockery being sent Jesus' way by onlookers. i had this image of of Jesus just being covered by heaps of hatred, vicious and venomous piles of sin. and then, for my whole life, i have never been able to be unmoved by the passionate, lonely and mysterious cry of Jesus, "why have you forsaken me?" it is a call that echoes across the centuries and haunts me. and so in my collage i tried to capture some of what felt like heaping piles of mockery and insult and the isolation that Christ felt. it was an interesting topic to address because it seems like every artist has already dealt with the topic, and all of them have handled much more adeptly than i ever could. so it was a humbling experience, not to mention very spiritually moving.
i am praying that all of you, my dear readers, have a very rich holy week.
and here are some closer shots of the details:
this week we were dealing with the crucifixion. not my favorite portion of scripture, to be sure, but one that i think merits our careful attention, as well as our broken hearts. as i read it through many times and prayed over it, i was struck by how mark's version uses the words "hurled" and "heaped" in reference to the insults and mockery being sent Jesus' way by onlookers. i had this image of of Jesus just being covered by heaps of hatred, vicious and venomous piles of sin. and then, for my whole life, i have never been able to be unmoved by the passionate, lonely and mysterious cry of Jesus, "why have you forsaken me?" it is a call that echoes across the centuries and haunts me. and so in my collage i tried to capture some of what felt like heaping piles of mockery and insult and the isolation that Christ felt. it was an interesting topic to address because it seems like every artist has already dealt with the topic, and all of them have handled much more adeptly than i ever could. so it was a humbling experience, not to mention very spiritually moving.
i am praying that all of you, my dear readers, have a very rich holy week.
"lent 2011: forsaken"
mixed media (acrylic paint, paper, crumbled crayon, masking tape) on canvas
april 2011
gregory a. milinovich
Comments
Do you have plans for the entire series??
em, the cross is actually nothing. it is just the absence of darkness. i didn't make it with anything.
as for the whole series, i didn't have any particular plans. i don't really "rate" enough as an artist to have a showing anywhere, so when i have a whole series like this the only thing i can do is share it with you all through the blog, and free the images out into the digital wilderness, where they can be copied and pasted and God knows what else. basically, i'm just not at a point where i make plans for my collages. ;). if you have some ideas, let me know. if they involve trying to pimp my art to galleries and such, i'm just not that into it.
Well that's got me off my original point - don't sell yourself short!
Peace, Brother.
em, i would always be interested in showing stuff, but it is difficult to find opportunities that don't involve losing lots of money (selling amateur art isn't lurcrative when you have to rent space and so forth). if there were churches in this area that did it, or galleries that would do a show, i would be very into that. but i have yet to find that around here so far. i made a lenten collage series last year and i sold them individually. i may do the same this year. don't know yet.