Easter Morning by He Qi

Easter Morning by He Qi

The following description is from "Bible Paintings: The Resurrection of Jesus Christ" at www.jesus-story.net:

He Qi is one of the most popular modern painters of religious themes. Here a triumphant angel announces that Christ has risen, conquering the demons of darkness who now flee from him. The women have not yet woken properly, and seem unaware of what has happened. They still mourn, but the angel is telling them that the time for grief is over.  Instead of the unfurled military-style banner often held by Christ in earlier paintings, He Qi's angel carries a luminous lily, sign of purity and peace.

Rev. Travis J. Scholl, editor of Concordia Journal, writes:

The more one encounters He Qi’s art, the more one encounters the creative tension between the vernacular and the universal, the local and the global, what Robert Brusic calls the “synthesis between artistic indigenization and proclamation.” He Qi’s pictorial vocabulary is thoroughly Chinese, but the message is nothing less than the Gospel itself. Again, Brusic: 

He Qi presents us with art that connects us to the biblical story in a fresh, even a surprising, way. He is both storyteller and evangelist in his art. He is not only preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, but he is also conveying a message that transcends cultural types. In seeking to de-westernize the Christian story, he is trying to open our eyes to the universal implications of the larger and all-encompassing narrative of God’s love for all creation. (Arts: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies 9:3 (1997), p. 10) 

Holy Saturday

The Fourteenth Station of the Cross by John Giuliani

The Fourteenth Station of the Cross: Jesus is Buried
by Jyoti Sahi

"Jesus is buried, and like the sleeping Asana (Nidre asana) he becomes one with the earth. Beside him is the pot, which symbolizes the empty container of the body, from which the waters of life have been poured out. He is like the tree that is uprooted, falling onto the ground." – Jyoti Art Ashram

The Dead Christ in the Tree by Hector Jandany

"Another means of expressing the relationship between Christian and Indigenous religion is shown in the painting by Hector Jandany, who likewise lives in Warmun and has painted since 1979. That year saw the establishment of the Bough Shed School by two Catholic nuns, invited in by the community. Hector Jandany lived according to and in harmony with both religions. His painting shows the body of Jesus, which lies on a platform in a tree. The artist references thereby a traditional funeral ceremony in his area. Note that the painting does not involve Christian iconography. The artist is renowned for his subdued color-palette in mostly dark tones. The fact that half of the painting is filled with bright ochre helps to emphasize the bier with the figure in black, the black Christ. The painting carries the title “The Dead Christ in the Tree.” Hector Jandany painted this work of art for the Easter service, for which it was used in the church at Warmun for a number of years." – aboriginal-art.de

Milingimbi Easter panel

Milingimbi Easter panel, c.1965

From the National Gallery of Australia (link includes a video of the painting with the following spoken text, or click here):

Maundy Thursday Art: Desert Eucharist by Linda Yunkata Syddick Napaltjarri

Desert Eucharist by Linda Syddick Napaltjarri

Wikipedia: "Linda Yunkata Syddick Napaltjarri (born c. 1937) is a Pintupi- and Pitjantjatjara- speaking Indigenous artist from Australia's Western Desert region. Her father was killed when she was young; her mother later married Shorty Lungkarta Tjungarrayi, an artist whose work was a significant influence on Linda Syddick's painting."

Artspeak Studio Gallery: "The fusion of Christianity and traditional culture is atypical of the Art of Linda Syddick, who is a deeply religious woman whose tribal world and Christian beliefs remain as one, as demonstrated in her unique paintings."

Cooee Aboriginal Art: "A deeply religious woman, her paintings reflect both her extensive knowledge of the Dreaming and her Christian beliefs. Besides these ‘crossover’ paintings, she paints Tingari Dreamings, her father’s Emu Dreamings and her mother’s Snake stories.  During the 1980’s Linda rose to prominence as an artist with a series of paintings that fused Christian stories with Aboriginal tradition, In attempting to show the link between Christian and Aboriginal creation stories she touched upon universal themes in her paintings that were executed in a traditional Pintupi style."

For a review of a group art show from 2005 called Holy Holy Holy that Linda participated in, click here.  The show explored "the impact of Christianity on Aboriginal people."

Four Easter Story Paintings by Australian Aboriginal Artist Linda Naparula Walker

Australian Aboriginal artist Linda Naparula Walker is a Warlpiri woman from Yuendumu Community in Central Australia.  Her father taught her to paint when she was a teenager.  He told her all the stories she could paint and share through her art.  Linda would travel all over Australia with her father, helping him do his ‘dots’ as she learnt from him.  Her own paintings have been featured in group art shows in Australia and the U.S.  Some of Linda's other paintings can be seen here, here and here.

Theological Diversity in a Globalized World by Christine Sine

Jesus Washing the Disciples' Feet,
artist unknown

Just came across this blog by Christine Sine and thought I'd share one of the interesting posts, Theological Diversity in a Globalized World.  Be sure to also check out the beautiful nonwestern Christian art!

The Jesus Question: Depictions of Jesus in Northwest Coast Art, Part 1

A Tlingit community house and totem poles are preserved in
Totem Bight State Historical Park in Ketchikan, Alaska.

Be sure to check out the first part of a new series of posts at The Jesus Question, called Depictions of Jesus in Northwest Coast Art.  The series looks to be an interesting and exciting "celebration of the divine image-bearing First Nations peoples of coastal British Columbia, Alaska, Washington, and Oregon, and their art."  Part 1 is a general introduction to the peoples who create Northwest Coast Art, and a description of totem poles, their history and purposes (and common misconceptions about them).  The post even contains three videos on the art form, as well as a few photos.  Though I'm very under-informed about Northwest Coast Art, I absolutely love the look of it and I can't wait for Part 2 (which is coming later this weekend)!

OM Arts Training: Incarnate 2014

I had previously posted that there would be a 2013 OM Arts School of Mission in Torino, Italy.  However, I just realized that the 2013 school has been cancelled and rescheduled for 11 February - 3 May 2014.  The organizers "plan to improve on what was a very successful pilot program, during the early months of 2012," and their goal is "to lead accomplished artists into incarnational service through being Christ centered, spiritually mature and cross-culturally effective."

For more information and links to the applications, click here.  The deadline for applying is Sun, September 1, 2013.

A Review of "Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach their Kingdom Goals"

Creating Local Arts Together: A Manual to Help Communities Reach their Kingdom Goals is a recently-published manual "designed to guide an individual or group into a local community’s efforts at integrating its arts with the values and purposes of God’s kingdom."  It is the manual in the pair of books that comprise the "Worship and Mission for the Global Church: an Ethnodoxology Handbook & Manual, or "handual."

If you'd like to read an informative review of the manual, check out this one by Gunnhild A. Bremer, a worker with SIL in East Africa. He gives a good overview of the book, along with an analysis of each of the book's seven sections.  At the end of the review he gives some reasons why the manual would be helpful for a Scripture Engagement worker.