From the vault -- source images
Well, not so much a vault as thick manila folders by my desk.
I've been visually minded for a while, and have been clipping and keeping images since at least junior high. Being that I'm collaging a bit more, I'd like to revisit some of those older groupings, and see if the images still seem fresh.
Here's one that I found from my "2000-2003" folder, a 2002 piece in Vanity Fair on the newly opened LA Cathedral.
The piece is on the doors of the Cathedral, and the sculptor who created them, but I found the front facade in general to be quite compelling. Again this surprising idea of combining modernity, aesthetics and faith into one package. This can seem very foreign to someone participating in evangelical Christian culture, given their suspicion of both modernity and their post-Reformation mistrust and "dumbing down" of the arts. It's sad that patronage of the arts is so further advanced in Catholic culture, but supporting something like that is a luxury that frequently splintering Protestant denominations cannot afford, or do not have the hierarchichal authority to validate...
At any rate, take a closer look at this lovely sculptural relief above the door.
I take this to be a figure of Mary, based upon her pose on a crescent moon. This piece is very exciting to me. There seems to be a clear sense of spirituality communicated in the pose and expression of the figure, but there is no aesthetic sentimentality--she has been imagined in a completely new way. I particularly like the tastefully modern tunic she is wearing. Lightweight, appropriate to climate, evoking earlier depictions of her, but not slavishly bound to them. Very creative and new. I like it.
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On an unrelated note, I visited the Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis over Thanksgiving, and saw some very interesting Russian artwork. This piece was not on display, but was represented in a hall display, and the gift shop:
