Artist Fuses Mongolian and Native American Influences

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form, organization or website.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

Artist J.Bayarjargal (2nd from right) with her final student art project.

Mongolian Christian artist J.Bayarjargal is a recent art school graduate from the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture in Ulaanbaatar.  For her final project she created a series of seven leather disks based on the days of creation (and the first Sabbath) found in Genesis.

Bayarjargal has been a follower of Christ since 2006.  For her final art project, she wanted to create something that was a testimony to her professors about her faith in God's Son.  She says, "There is only one inspiration for my artwork [and] that is God and His mighty work that He has done for us."  She chose leather as her medium because her brother, who is also an artist, had previously worked with leather.

The round shape of Bayarjargal's leather pieces represents God's omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence.  She reinforces the idea of God's unchanging nature through the use of three colors throughout the seven disks: red, yellow and blue.  These are also the colors of the Mongolian flag.  Bayarjargal writes that red represents strength, decisiveness and power; blue signifies the eternal blue sky, with the different shades of blue in the leather disks symbolizing "the limitlessness of God in all areas."  Yellow equals clarity and light.  Using the same palette throughout the seven discs indicates that "everything [is] connected [and] related to one another [because of] the way He created them."

Mongolian Warrior Paintings #8-10

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form or organization.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

Today we finish with the last three paintings by Mongolian Christian artist Tumur-Ochir Gombojav.  To read more about the entire group of these paintings and their cultural background, please click here.

The Shield of Faith to Extinguish All the Flaming Arrows
of the Evil One

Mongol shield, 13th century.
Genghis Khan: The Exhibit.

Mongol shield, 13th century.
Genghis Khan: The Exhibit.

The Helmet of Salvation

Mongolian helmet, date unknown.

To see a licensed image of a modern reenactor at the Naadam Festival in Mongolia wearing a cross-emblazoned helmet similar to the one in the painting above, click here.

And lastly...

The Sword of the Spirit, Which is the Word of God
(the Mongolian sword is not double-edged, so the warrior
 wields two swords: the Old and the New Testaments)

Mongol Cavalry Saber, 13th-14th century, Genghis Khan: The Exhibit.

Mongol Cavalry Saber, 13th-14th century, Mongolian Military Museum.

Mongolian Warrior Paintings #6-7

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form or organization.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

Here are the sixth and seventh paintings by Mongolian Christian artist Tumur-Ochir Gombojav.  To read about the entire group of these paintings and their cultural background, please click here.

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Reproduction Mongolian Warrior Armor,
c. 1200-1300 A.D.

Feet Fitted With the Readiness That Comes From
the Gospel of Peace (trampling the "Toad of Greed";
note metal plates[?] on boots)

Mongolian plated boots, c. 15th-16th Century A.D.

Mongolian Warrior Paintings #4-5

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form or organization.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

The fourth and fifth paintings by Mongolian Christian artist Tumur-Ochir Gombojav.  To read more about the entire group of these paintings and their cultural background, please click here.

Our Struggle is Not Against Flesh and Blood, But Against the Powers
of This Dark World and Against the Spiritual Forces of Evil, #2

Mongol heavy cavalryman, 13th century.
Genghis Khan: The Exhibit.

The Belt of Truth

Mongolian belt with brasswork

Mongolian Warrior Paintings #2-3

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form or organization.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

Today we continue with the second and third of paintings by Mongolian Christian artist Tumur-Ochir Gombojav.  To read more about the entire group of these paintings and their cultural background, please click here.

Put On the Full Armor of God.

Our Struggle is Not Against Flesh and Blood, But Against the Powers
of This Dark World and Against the Spiritual Forces of Evil, #1

Corresponding art from historical sources:

A Timurid depiction of an Mongol archer, early 15th century.

One of Khubilai Khan's Mongol bodyguards, late 12th century

Mongolian Warrior Paintings Depict the Armor of God from Ephesians 6:10-20

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form or organization.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

My friend, Ariunaa, a Southeast Asian living in Mongolia, previously worked with me in order to facilitate the creation of a contextualized worship banner based on one of my bowl paintings (here and here).  She recently emailed me about a Mongolian Christian artist that had completed a series of contextualized paintings based on Ephesians 6:10-20, where Paul describes the whole armor of God.  Each picture includes a Bible verse in Mongol bichig (traditional Mongolian script).

The 57 year-old artist, Tumur-Ochir Gombojav, attends church at Itgeliin Bambai (Shield of Faith) in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.  Three years ago a friend of Tumur-Ochir's brought him to Itgeliin Bambai where he became a Christian, and as a result he now seeks to glorify God with his art.  Previously he attended art school in Mongolia from 1971-1975, and later after graduation attended the School of Fine Arts Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia 1979-1986.

Contextualized Mongolian Banner Update

In 2011 I posted about a worship celebration in Mongolia that commemorated 20 years of the Gospel in Mongolia.  The organizers of the event made nine contextualized banners that used two different Mongolian alphabets and cultural symbols.  One of the banners was based on a bowl painting of mine called Risen Lord of Heaven and Earth. The banner itself was called "Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life" and was based on John 14:6.

Mongolian Christian Celebration Uses Visual Art

Back in June Ariunaa, a Southeast Asian living in Mongolia, contacted me about an upcoming worship celebration in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia that took place in September (2011).  Ariunaa had discovered some of my artwork, specifically this ceramic bowl called Risen Lord of Heaven and Earth.  She explained that the celebration in Ulaanbaatar was commemorating 20 years of the Gospel in Mongolia, and that people from all over Mongolia would be attending.  The event's worship leader had asked her to train a group of believers in using flags for worship; nine banners would be used during the celebration, and she wanted to know if they could adapt my bowl image for one of them.  Of course, I quickly agreed!