Painting and Essay by Jerome Lawrence

Express to make known one's opinions or feelings

We are often content to move through life in a straight line, painfully aware of the obvious and pleasantly amused by harmless deviation regardless of magnitude. We encounter art and it doesn’t seem to matter to the creators of it what we really want, the type of day we’ve had or what kind of stress we’re under. Many of us are taught to see to the needs of others and we’re often surprised when others don’t care for themselves much less about us.

The moments we think that we are in control come and go with varying effect on our actual position of power, while our opinions change, our moods shift, our consciousness wavers and the only certainty seem to be that we want what we want when we want it. A better understanding of others will allow greater influence as we attempt to move, excite, and otherwise manipulate a person’s emotions, attitudes, ideas, etc. to gain acceptance, compassion and understanding or whatever else we have determined at this moment is what we want.

We must understand that our most crystal clear expression may not be so to a large part of our audience. Design your expressions to both continue the process of your understanding and to begin mine. We know that what is outside of us is the same but is seen differently by each one. And if we each see that which is outside of us differently, sharing the specifics of tints and shades within our mind becomes an increasingly difficult task. Emotions are common, but how many of us can admit to feeling only one emotion without a mix of many others in different degrees? Your ability to express is an important part of my ability to understand. Of the differences between individuals I ask you importantly to consider differences in mental health. With differing access to information, varying capacity to understand and to not misunderstand and differing ability to make use of information there is ample opportunity to either harm and take advantage through confusion or to gainfully assist others by becoming an instrument of clarity. Which do you want?

Imagine being on a desolate planet. You are a blob. Your only thought is to survive. Parts of you extend in search of nourishment. Locomotion is developed to further assist your search. Your development of senses helps to glean every advantage from your surroundings. Your purpose becomes to effectively maneuver within your environment reserving strength, increasing stamina, maintaining peak condition in order to efficiently obtain nourishment and knowledge; ever increasing your ability to not only sustain your existence but also to thrive. Contentment and dissatisfaction are gaged to monitor your progress in achieving this goal. To thrive is what you want whether you realize it or not. You encounter an identical blob. How much can you assume? With identical parts can you also assume identical thoughts, emotions, desires and identical purpose? Can our entire existence be summed in the practice of getting what we want without regard for the thoughts, emotions, desires and possible purposes of coexisting blobs?

Within your life and your life’s work, take full advantage of that which makes you a unique “blob”. Highlight the laughter of a shimmering lake in a way that only you can. Entrench the coarse shrill of a scream into our psyche or deliver a “knock out punch” with that feather of an idea you didn’t think you had much use for. There is a way of seeing that only you possess. An important tactic in getting what we want is to share. Giving a part of you is prerequisite to receiving in many cases. Share with your audience helpful thoughts, feelings, experiences, attitudes, and even that for which we haven’t words but know in our hearts has shared value.

On View: Infinity by Jerome Lawrence. 20x24, acrylic on canvas. BFA, Georgia State University. Jerome Lawrence's solo exhibitions in Georgia include galleries such as Sabra Gallery, Ferst Center for the Arts at Georgia Tech, Chances Gallery, City Gallery East, VSA Arts for All Gallery, and others. His artwork is part of the documentary Shadow Voices & Building on Faith by Mennonite Media, and he has been interviewed by CNN news, WXIA-TV and WSB-TV in Atlanta, Georgia.

Jerome Lawrence's work was featured in Visual Preludes 2006, an exhibition of Episcopal Church & Visual Arts for the 75th General Convention of The Episcopal Church, Columbus, Ohio, 2006.

Art is a powerful force. It contributes to the formation of our attitudes, our beliefs and even our behaviors. It is the subject of study in history and sociology, and more recently, in the church.

An examination of how art exists in cross-cultural contexts reveals a list of roles that art and artists play. This list includes:
- ascribers of meaning;
- ascribers of status;
- catalysts of social change;
- enhancers and decorators;
- interpreters;
- magicians;
- mythmakers;
- propagandists;
- recorders of history;
- sociotherapists;
- storytellers; and
- teachers.
(from Celebrating Pluralism - Art, Education and Cultural Diversity, F. Graeme Chalmers, 1996, The J. Paul Getty Trust.

In addition to the qualities of art and artists listed above, I would add the following:
- prophets;
- keepers of conscience;
- visionaries;
- recorders of humanity.

On View: Elijah in the Chariot of Fire, Contemporary Byzantine Icon by Betsy Porter. Photograph by Richard Anderson. More information is available at the artist's website, betsyporter.com

As Seen At: Gallery 1055 in the Diocese of California, 1055 Taylor Street, San Francisco. Through mid-April.

And he bought a linen shroud, and taking Jesus down, wrapped him in it, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock. Mark 15:46

A couple of years ago, an artist associated with our parish died. As a tribute to his life and labor, we exhibited a few of his works in our gathering space. Many people came for the exhibit and spent time with the impressive canvases of garden flowers, fruits, and other objects of nature. Some of the paintings were enormous oils with heavy gilded frames; others were diminutive, almost whimsical portrayals of the basic things of life yet portrayed in grandiose style.

The more I lived with these paintings the less I saw of the objects. Walking through the space each day I gained a new perspective on his work. Gradually, as if thread by thread, I began to notice that every painting had a linen cloth wrapped deep within the composition. Not an afterthought or casual object of Renaissance style, the cloth struck me as the central figure, the very essence of each painting. This incredible artist had taken a negative space and emphasized it so much that the cloth became the centerpiece of the composition. And in every case, the cloth was white. He had given us an image of nature’s rebirth amidst the flowers and fruits, and at the same time, he had bestowed something of our own rebirth into each composition by transforming simple linen into a shroud of resurrection.

We often miss resurrection. It’s there, right beside us each day. But somehow, we become so fixed on all the objects around us that we fail to see the central theme. So when things are crazy, we focus on the elements creating the chaos instead of the undercurrent of hope and joy amidst it all. We become so absorbed in the details, we fail to see the deep abiding theme of new life running like a beautiful shroud throughout life.

I now return to the image of the shroud when I lose sight of God’s resurrection in my life. Having that image has helped me when the details start to control and I forget the total composition of my life. I begin to see the white linen – something left behind – as evidence that new birth, new life is taking place. I stop and visualize how that shroud looks in my life and I start looking for it amidst all the busyness that captures me. And the incredible thing – I have yet to find a place where God has not already left that beautiful shroud for all of us to see.

About the Author: The Rev. Michael Sullivan is Rector of St John's Episcopal Church, Lynchburg, Va, and author of Windows into the Soul - Art as Spiritual Expression, Morehouse, 2006.

On View: Untitled, with white, by Taylor Harbison. 2003. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Daniel Garza and the Estate of Taylor Harbison.

During the first prayer of the Easter Vigil service, the priest addresses God as Creator and Divine Revivifier. O God, who wonderfully created, and yet more wonderfully restored the dignity of human nature... (BCP,p 288). This prayer is an active prayer of response, a prayer spoken by the priest on behalf of the people who have just heard the story of Creation. It is a dangerous prayer, acknowledging that there are cracks in the fabric of the universe. The Seen and the Unseen are not divided into a tidy arrangement of separate absolutes. Oh no. The business of God is at work amongst the people gathered. And the priest, by virtue of his or her vows, stands between God and God's people to claim the new life that God is giving, has given, and continues to give.

It was with this event in mind, the Easter Vigil service that occurred across the globe on March 22 2008, that I chose art that might represent for us a revivifying image for our eyes, that we might see this new life, this 'Christos Aneste!', that our priests have already proclaimed and received on our behalf.

Traditional Resurrection imagery depicts Christ breaking the bonds of death, for himself and for all of humanity past present and future, in the iconic representation 'The Harrowing of Hell.' visible in this link to the British Library's online gallery. This folio from Queen Melisende's Psalter dates to the early 12th century, with the verso (left page) showing an illumination of 'The Harrowing of Hell'. Christ is shown bursting through the doors of hell, in a pose filled with strength and action. Christ's descent into Hell triumphs in the saving of all souls residing there, and in this image Christ is grabbing the hand of a man who is himself in an active pose of climbing out to claim new life himself. The recto (right page) is an illumination of 'The Angel at the Empty Tomb', with sleeping guards and the angel of the Lord proclaiming the resurrection at the entrance to the abandoned rock. Three women are shown entering the scene from the left. They are arriving with plans to dress Jesus' body for burial, and carry flasks filled with unguents. 'The Harrowing of Hell' uses narrative imagery to tell the story of Christ's Resurrection from a biblical perspective.

'Easter', a mixed media piece by Dennis Di Vicenzo, uses contemporary graphics to tell the story of Christ's Resurrection from his perspective. Di Vicenzo breathes new meaning into the symbols of Easter and offers us a visual language of new interpretation. In 'Easter', there is action as the Pascal lamb and all that follows is poured out of the cup of salvation. The communion host, the fish, the heart, the text from the prayer book, the stained glass windows - all of these symbols illustrate the story of Easter. In using imagery that is understood by people today, Di Vicenzo is in his own way offering his viewers eyes to see new life.

And yet, something is missing. What do we have in 'Easter' to draw all of these individual pieces together? It is the very same that is missing from 'The Harrowing of Hell.' The imagery in both pieces of art needs an explanation if it is to have meaning for a person today. Would you have known that the two rectangles beneath Christ's feet were doors if someone had not told you? Likely not. Would you recognize the cup as pouring out God's promise of salvation to all peoples? Perhaps not.

In both of these pieces of art, the crack in the fabric of the universe is represented. The Seen and the Unseen mix it up, just like in life. The artists have done their work. If you cannot see the story of Resurrection in these two pictures, take heart. Through your baptism and your priest, you have been given eyes to see new life. Go out into the world and see symbols and signs of the resurrection for yourself.

On View: Easter by Dennis Di Vincenzo. Mixed media, 2007.

As seen in: Feasts for the Eyes, an exhibition of Episcopal Church & Visual Arts, Judith McManis, Curator.

Acknowledgments
With thanks to Donald Shell for suggesting the icon of 'The Harrowing of Hell'; to Deirdre Good for assistance with art direction; and, to Larry Hunter for his Vigil sermon.

Have you ever felt pressured because you failed to conform to someone else's standards?
Kyrie eleison
Have you ever sought anonymity in order to be yourself without fear of retribution?
Christe eleison
Have the standards of an institution exerted such pressure on you that, when conversion was not possible for you, you sought sanctuary in duality?
Kyrie eleison

Freedoms of speech and worship in the United States are protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." ~ The First Amendment was ratified on December 15, 1791

On View: Black and white are considered pure colors in the artist's palette. When mixed in equal proportions they create 50% gray. Gray is not so much a duality of white and black - once combined we cannot separate out pure white from pure black. Gray is its own color entirely, with its own identity, properties, strengths and weaknesses.