Sylvia Bubalo, a Mennonite artist and poet, grew up feeling a deeply spiritual connection to God. She was able to listen to God and use the divine to guide her actions. So she became an artist: because she was called to do so.
Of her work is one painting in particular: "Evidence of Things Not Seen, Hebrews 11:1." It resonated with me because of how it both reinforces and debates the contents of Hebrews 11:1. The Bible verse in Hebrews refers to "faith" as the evidence of things not seen. It says that faith in now the assurance of our God, not things we can see. Bubalo's painting seems to reinforce this, by depicting a divine being beautiful and great to behold by the viewer of the painting, but completely shrouded from the view of the religious community below. It shows that the community must have faith without the sight of the divine. However, Bubalo's painting of the divine being also incorporates elements of the world we can see. The head is made to look like a radiant moon, surround by the bright night's stars. The body is comprised ot stripes of a rainbow. Those elements are all wonderful and beautiful elements of the visible world, implying that we can still the see proof of the divine in the world around us if we attribute those beauties to God. It implicitly suggests that evidence can be seen if the religious community would look up.
I definitely agree with your analysis of the piece, Kolton. I would also add that this seems to be drawing on the idea of "Christ-love" Bubalo described seeing in individual members of groups, despite the community's rigidity and strictness. Drawing on what you said in your last sentence, it seems like this piece is drawing on Bubalo's criticisms of tradition and her belief that the "church tended to over-emphasize the group."
ReplyDeleteI also agree with your analysis, Kolton (and may I add that this is a beautiful piece of art). I think it's interesting that nature is seen as proof of the divine because it makes me think of how much Christianity has in common with other religions, especially those that also value nature. I also appreciate that the depiction of the divine is fairly gender-neutral.
ReplyDeleteKolton, you cut to the heart of how Sylvia portrays the interaction of the visible and invisible worlds when you say that the painting "imply[ies] that we can still the see proof of the divine in the world around us if we attribute those beauties to God."
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