EASTER SUNDAY via Modern Artists

Despite the vast history of religious artwork which documents the history of this Christian holiday, I wanted to depict the chronological events surrounding the Easter celebration using modern artwork. I appreciate, applaud, and admire Leonardo Di Vinci, Rafael, Caravaggio, Bellini, and Rembrandt, I just needed a little fresher expression of these truths conveyed through art. 
 
Note: I have cited & linked all works to the original artists, museums, or private collectors. I have no purpose in sharing these images other than relating these events in testament of their occurrence.

The Last Supper, J. Kirk Richards, 2000

Following the Last Supper Christ gave his apostles what is referred to as the New Commandment: 

" Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.  A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." 
-John 13:33-35

Christ in the Garden of Olives, Paul Gauguin, 1889

"The Savior's sacrifice required inexhaustible stamina in order to bear the consequences of our sins and weather the temptations of the Evil One." 
-"The Infinite Atonement", Tad. R. Callister, pg. 129

               "Sacrificial Rights", Janelle Jensen Fritz, 2000 Includes an attachment of "The Lord Jesus Christ", Del Parsons, 1983  

During a time of unfamiliar and uncertain solitude this widely distributed picture of Christ (The Lord Jesus Christ, Del Parson, 1983) made its way onto the nail of this 3-dimensional painting/collage I completed in 2000, in an abstract representation of the atonement. It served as a makeshift frame one night as I needed a visual reminder of my friend and Savior Jesus Christ. Somehow the crude arrangement became a permanent fixture, in which I found symbolic comfort. 

Some may see this as a blasphemous correlation, but for some reason every time my rock-n-roll soul hears the song "Seek & Destroy" by Metallica, I always think of Christ. I don't think I have ever fully understood why. It plays as an anthem carrying one away from evil to me. This quote in "The Infinite Atonement" illuminated some of the reasons why this song would be set as a soundtrack in my heart for the atonement:

"Part of the Savior's atoning quest must have included an element of conquering, an offensive struggle of sorts. There was a need to rescue and deliver souls from "the chains of hell" (Alma 12:11) This part of the battle may have necessitated an invasion of Satan's turf, perhaps even an intrepid trespass into the dark abyss of the Devil's Domain. 
The Savior's redemption was a one-man rescue mission to deliver the prisoners of all ages from death and hell, of which Satan was the ever-so-vigilant guard. Tennyson's description of "The Light Brigade" may bear some similiarities to the Savior's battle on Gethsemane:

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them,

Cannon in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell, 

Boldy they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death, 

Into the mouth of hell. "

- "The Infinite Atonement", Tad R. Callister, pg 129-130

 

White Crucifixion, Marc Chagall, 1938

 After betrayl, abuse, and the judgement of a hearing where he was abused throughout the interrogation, he was brought to a political trial. A criminal was released in his stead, and  Jesus Christ was turned over to the Roman soldiers for crucifixion. In Matthew 27, Holy Bible, KJV it relays the torture, and mockery that ensued. Resulting in his crucifixion on Golgotha, between two thieves. 

 Crucifixion Detail, 1979, is a work that portrays the perspective from the vantage of those two thieves. About his work, artist Gary Lessord stated:
 The image centers on Christ alone with turbulence in the sky. The angle is from the viewpoint of the thieves on the sides of Jesus. It was painted this way so everyone who viewed Jesus' crucifixion would see Him as the thieves did on the cross. Opportunity is given to the viewer to either be convicted and call upon the love and grace of God's son to save them, as the one thief did, or choose to deny the reality of Christ's sacrifice on the cross and perish, as the other thief. The reality of the atoning blood is placed undeniably before people in visual simplicity. A picture is worth a thousand words and combined with the Word of God it is that much more effective." -Gary Lessord, artist note

Crucified Tree Form-the agony, Theyre Lee-Elliott, 1959. Methodist Collection Modern Christian Art.

The Stripping of Our Lord, Philip le Bas, 1962. Methodist Collection of Modern Christian Art .

Empty Tomb, He Qi, 2001

 An article entitled  Reflections of the Saviors Last Week provides the following insight to the Ressurection:

"All four Gospels begin the account of the Resurrection with the empty tomb. The angels’ query to the women, “Why seek ye the living among the dead?” (Luke 24:5) continues to be a question that confronts us today, for we must find the living Christ not just in the pages of history or even the scriptures but also through the Holy Spirit in our own lives.

 The miracle of the empty tomb and the subsequent appearances of the risen Lord stand as powerful reminders that the atoning mission of Jesus Christ was not limited to His suffering and death for our sins. As expressed by the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob, the goodness of God is manifest in His preparing a way to overcome the awful monsters of death and hell, which are physical and spiritual death (see 2 Nephi 9:10). Only by overcoming both of these obstacles through the Redemption and the Resurrection can God’s children truly become “one” with Him again". -LDS.org - Ensign Article - Reflections on the Savior’s Last Week

Christ Sketch, Ben Hammond , held in a private collection of artist J. Kirk Richards

 Art delivers a testimony of truth. Jesus Christ delivers. He delivers us, he delivers on his promises. Revelation 22:13, Christ testifies, "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last". We are all thieves of something in our own way. Just as the two thieves that hung beside Christ on Golgotha, at the end, our own thievery or blackness doesn't determine our vantage point to him. We do. When we ask, he will rescue even the thickest of thieves or blackest of sheep of his fold. 

Rescue of the Lost Lambs, Minerva Teichert

 

Take 5, Slow-Down, & Feel Smarter and Less Stressed

Sometimes it takes a literal slow-down to put life in perspective and frankly make it worth while to endure until bedtime. Since it is close to 5pm, and bedtime is no where near the horizon, though soccer practice & dinner are...my goal in sharing is not to put you to sleep, but to slow-down for a few moments and contemplate the basic beauties of the world, and your life. 

I caught this segment after elementary school running club yesterday, where I cheered & chased, but did not fit in a run. NPR blogger Adam Frank takes on an unpretentious voice with a quirk of humor to share his scientific insight into this much needed momentary slow-down. In How to See the World in a Grain of Sand he starts by saying: 


"More than two centuries ago, the great poet William Blake offered the world the most extraordinary of possibilities:

To see a world in a grain of sand
And a heaven in a wild flower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,
and eternity in an hour.

Yeah, that would be nice.
Unfortunately, most of us don't know how to hold eternity in the palm of our hands. In fact, most of us feel lucky if we can just hold it together until the end of the day. The problem, of course, is that mostly we've lost our minds. And I mean that literally. Our attention is endlessly lost in the endless blur of appointments, to-do lists, worry, concern and agitation that makes up modern life.
Sometimes, however, for the briefest moment, we do pick up a scent that there is something more going on than this daily round of survival. But those moments pass and waves of mundane urgency swallow us again. Tumbling through the chaos of our day-to-days, we wonder if Blake's vision of a broader, more expansive experience is nothing more than a poet's fancy. Can we really see the Universe in a grain of sand, even as we slog through traffic? Can we really hold infinity in our hands, even as we drop off the kids to violin practice?
The answer, I believe, is "yes."

Well instead of a grain of sand, I'm giving you a few moments of a video produced by my fabulous cousin, personal family photographer, the talented director Jacob Schwarz. It is a visual slow-down treat for an artist and anyone looking to be calmly captivated. Breath, & take 5.

 

Let them have their cake, so they can eat too.

A runner friend of mine is the general manager at the Brite Spot Diner in LA. I've never been, but hear rave reviews from tastebuds I admire. I always salivate over his decadent Instagram feed. Today's his photo in honor of the Human Rights Campaign for Marriage Equality got some thought provoking juices flowing, to which, I added my own caption. Without slathering it heavy with my own moralistic icing, I'll suffice it to say, that to me, this is a non-religious, civil rights issue.

The best way in which I can explain this stance is through the example of a business mogul who has chosen to uphold the rights of his employees, even in spite of the religious beliefs he holds personally. I appreciate J.W. Marriot's example in putting people above his "politics".  In a recent interview with Michel Martin from NPR's Tell Me More, he stated the following: 

"MARTIN: But you started the company - your parents started the company. It was 30 years before the civil rights movement and you've managed to grow this company. It is regularly on the list of the top places to work across Fortune, but a number of other places. And I was curious how you've managed to do that without stumbling into a lot of these culture war questions that seem to have tripped up a number of your fellow CEOs. I mean, I'm thinking more recently about like the chair of Chick-fil-A, who got a lot of - well, both negative and positive attention, depending on your point of view, when he took a very strong public stance around same-sex marriage. He's opposed to it. You've never been criticized for kind of stepping wrong on these questions. I'm interested in how you navigate these questions.

JR.: Well, we've always been in favor of equality and we believe that everybody should have a chance to learn, to grow, to be promoted, to provide for their families - if even if they don't have families. You know, we've never been segregated by race and never been segregated by sexual preference. We were one of the very first to come out with partner benefits. We should be giving opportunities to everybody, regardless of their sex, and their gender and their sexual preferences."

 

Let LGBT have cake (civil rights), so they can eat too!

 

 

 

 

Bluebonnets & Klein Blue

For You:

I have to admit, prior to Texas, I really didn't have bluebonnets on my radar. But here, they are hard to miss, almost in a saturated sense of titles, businesses, etc. That is, until I got down to the sentiments & legends. It was then, combined with their Klein blue, that ethereal hue which hypnotized me from my first induction, that I got it. 

Yves Klein, Untitled blue monochrome, Guggenheim, NYC

 There is an abundant hope connected with the fields of bluebonnets. A hope of what is to come, and what is to be. It was with those sentiments that I painted my own version. Being that I was painting flowers, I conjured up a bit of Georgia O'Keefe, in her botanical magnification style. Unfortunately, once again, there is only an iPhone click of the evidence. The original was purchased from the Decadence-n-decay Art wall at The Plaid Peacock in Roanoke, Texas last fall. With spring on the horizon, I'm contemplating painting some more. I just can't get enough of that blue. 

"Bluebonnets", Janelle Jensen Fritz, 2012

For Your Little Friends: 

We stumbled upon this book at our local library. We are fans of Tomie de Paola, and loved the way the background of this Texas favorite was captured and depicted. Definitely a worthwhile read, regardless of if you have children or not. This one cut me to the core.

The Story of the Bluebonnet, Tomie de Paola