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Tuesday 12 February 2008

Biblical Art: An International A-Z - Part 3

Art histories rarely focus on modern sacred or religious art, giving the impression that the visual arts in the twentieth century were predominantly secular. This represents a Western view of art history which can itself be challenged and which completely overlooks the significant development of Biblical Art in Asia and Africa throughout this period and on into the contemporary scene. The following A-Z attempts to provide a brief sample of some of the artists and organisations that create and support Biblical Art in Asia and Africa:

He Qi (b. 1950): Qi’s vibrant biblical paintings blend together Chinese folk customs and traditional painting techniques with the western art of the Middle Ages and Modern period. He hopes to help change the "foreign image" of Christianity in China by using artistic language, and at the same time, to supplement Chinese art as Buddhist art did in ancient times.

Rorke's Drift Art School: played an important role in the development of art produced by black South Africans. Artists were trained in the use of linocut, etching and aquatint. Founded as the Evangelical Lutheran Church Arts and Craft Centre in 1962 by the Church of Sweden Mission, its pupils included Azaria Mbatha, Cyprian Shilakoe, Vuminkosi Zulu, and Gabi Nkosi.

Sacrum: A term coined by the Polish critic and art historian, Janusz Bogucki to describe the meeting of spiritual themes and Polish avant-garde artists. In the 1980s Bogucki organised a series of art exhibitions in Catholic Churches, the most famous being the 1983 exhibition, The Sign of the Cross, at the Church of God’s Mercy in Warsaw which brought together over fifty artists and photographers together with actors, musicians, art theorists, and filmmakers.

Alfred D. Thomas: an Anglican, from Uttar Pradesh in India, who depicted Christ’s life and ministry. His Christ had the ideal male body of classical Indian sculptures, with broad shoulders and narrow waist. An Indian art critic wrote that, “Thomas’s pictures of the Christ as child, man and divine-man are unique in their true oriental colouring and sentiment.”

Hatigammana Uttarananda (b. 1954): a Buddhist monk who has been influenced by Catholic theologian Aloysius Pieris. Through his interest in liberation theology, Uttarananda is aware of the way in which Jesus broke down barriers between people and consistently depicts this aspect of Christ ministry in paintings based on the Gospel narratives.

Hanna Cheriyan Varghese: a Malaysian artist who began painting on biblical themes after being inspired by works she saw in the ACAA’s Image magazine. Varghese dyes batik cloth pictures and paints in acrylics. She has said that, “Art is the expressive cry of the soul. All of us have that urge in one form or another. Discover it; nurture it.”

Sadao Watanabe (1913 - 1996): created paintings of biblical narratives in the paste-resist stencil dying technique of Japanese Folk Art called katazome. Reflecting both his folk and faith roots Watanabe said of his paintings, “I would most like to see them hanging where people ordinarily gather, because Jesus brought the gospel for the people.”

Ruben Xulu (1942 - 1985): taught to carve by sculptor Bernard Gwensa and encouraged by Father Kinch, of the Roman Catholic Mission of the Good Shepherd, Hlabisa in South Africa, Xulu and Gwensa produced many sculptures for this church and other mission churches in the area. Xulu’s Christ-Crucified is informed by his own silent resignation to God’s will after he lost his hearing as a child.

Yasantha Boange (b. 1945): Sri Lankan wood carver who has been greatly inspired by religious themes and, for whom, wood carving has deepened his understanding of religion.

Vuminkosi Zulu (1948 – 1996): a Rorke’s Drift graphic artist, his work was brought to international attention when a German Lutheran priest based in Switzerland began to collect Zulu’s works and use them to illustrate his sermons. Zulu’s work was exhibited in Germany, Sweden and the USA, as well as within South Africa.

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