Models of inculturation celebrated in art

My latest interview for ArtWay is with Paul Chandler of Caravan and artist Brian Whelan about WHITE ROBE: An exhibition celebrating the life of Rev. Dr. John Roberts among Native Americans. John Roberts was a Welsh Episcopal/Anglican priest who served on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming from 1883-1949. His ministry stands as an exemplary model of inculturation, as he honoured indigenous Native American spirituality and embraced their culture and languages.

Working in narrative series in the way that Whelan has done has synergies with the work of Greg Tricker (series on Anne Frank, Francis of Assisi, Joan of Arc, etc.) and murals about Brother Joseph Dutton that André Girard painted for Blessed Sacrament Church at Stowe in Vermont. Chandler is familiar with Girard’s paintings and windows that commemorate the influential ministry of Dutton in Hawaii and sees similarities with Roberts, as both “tell a story of remarkable servants, whose examples have much to teach us today.”

Girard was a multi-faceted artist and creative individual who was not only an internationally-renowned painter, but a film and television innovator, a printer of fine books, a French Resistance fighter, a writer, a lecturer, a stage-designer, and educator (see my ArtWay article on Girard for more information). When he visited Blessed Sacrament Church at Stowe in 1949 to install his paintings of the Way of the Cross, he saw the empty space with only an altar and a crucifix and became inspired to meet the challenge of creating an entire atmosphere of sacred space within the church through his own creative vision.

The continuous row of 36 windows surrounding the uppermost level of the church provided the perfect opportunity for him to utilize his technique of painting on light. Upon hearing of the humanitarian efforts of Brother Joseph Dutton, he was inspired to paint highlights of his life in Molokai on large-scaled murals on the outer walls of the church so that people could visually experience his life of sacrifice and dedication.

Brother Dutton felt drawn to his service at the leper colony on the island of Molokai, after hearing of the ministry there of Father Damien, who had built homes, an orphanage, and churches there and, as a result, contracted leprosy himself. At the age of forty, Dutton had a spiritual transformation and found a deeper purpose in his life by going to Molokai to help Father Damien in his mission of caring for the lepers. Following the death of Father Damien, the responsibility of directing the entire settlement fell to Brother Dutton. Dutton not only initiated many building projects but also made the residents realize they were part of a community, and with some training could help build each others’ houses, grow crops, and raise chickens to help feed their families. He also used his letter-writing skills to communicate with people all over the world to bring attention to the needs of his flock.

Another series of paintings celebrating an example of inculturation among indigenous peoples is DeGrazia and Padre Kino by Ettore “Ted” DeGrazia at the Mission in the Sun in Tucson, US.

In 1687, Padre Eusebio Kino arrived in northern Mexico on horseback traveling into what is now Arizona. Padre Kino explored the vast lands of Arizona and California, making friends with the Native Americans whom he encountered as he mapped the region. Unfortunately, with him also came the soldiers of the King of Spain, who brought guns and swords, while the gentle priest brought a simple cross to introduce Christianity without destroying the native cultures. He told them stories of Christ and the Bible, introduced them to Christian ceremonies, and together they built 24 missions in 24 years that stretched from Sonora, Mexico, to Southern Arizona. San Xavier del Bac, also known as the “White Dove of the Desert,” is one of the most impressive of those missions. It is located just southwest of Tucson.

DeGrazia was inspired by the memorable events in the life and times of Padre Kino, the heroic, historic and immortal priest-colonizer of the Southwestern desert. Since childhood, DeGrazia admired Padre Kino for his education, life of adventure, and respect for Native Americans. DeGrazia traveled to every Kino mission as he lovingly studied the life of his favorite Jesuit priest. The Mission in the Sun is dedicated to his memory.

Nancy Wiechec writes that: "DeGrazia died in 1982. Among his tens of thousands of surviving works are the Way of the Cross; multiple depictions of Our Lady of Guadalupe; a series on Jesuit Father Eusebio Kino, a missionary to the Southwest; and a mission, which the artist designed, built and dedicated to Father Kino.

“I don’t know how many religious paintings he did, but he did a pretty good share,” said Lance Laber, executive director of the DeGrazia Foundation, the organization DeGrazia founded to preserve his art.

According to Laber, DeGrazia’s Catholic heritage, the faith and spirituality of the Indians he befriended and his admiration of Father Kino were inspirations for his religious works.”

These works began after a priest "approached DeGrazia about painting the Stations of the Cross for the St. Thomas More Catholic Newman Center at the University of Arizona." DeGrazia "fulfilled the request in 1964."

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