TRUTH | Introduction
!!! WELCOME TO MY SERIES !!!
I have been working on this project since March 2013. It all started with an image of Jesus I couldn't get out of my head. It looked nothing like what was around me in my catholic upbringing and I just couldn't shake it.
So I finally sat down to create this image and ease my curiosity of knowing this amazing human more. Despite going to church every Sunday and several religious education programs, I just didn't feel like I had much of a relationship at all. When I started the first portrait, I had no idea of the massive journey ahead. A small spiritual quest gradually turned into a mission for God.
One of the most interesting parts of the journey is discovering firsthand the nature of imagery and how it interacts with and impacts our minds. In this case, employing detailed imagination was critical to bridge reality as I knew it, with reality as I saw it. Imagination and empathy caused all sorts of scenes in relation to the central message. This was really powerful and gave me a new wide open space to explore in. A space I suspect might not be "public" to many people.
All that to say- it took a great deal of time and imagination to create each unique piece. I hope you enjoy not just what you're looking at, but what you're seeing. Have as much or as little engagement with these portraits; it's all up to you. As it is the same with Jesus.
THE GOALS
1) The first goal is to give you a personal experience with Jesus through these paintings. It might not be the same as opening the Bible, but this is to supplement your curiosity for Christ. I believe activating your imagination and spending time thinking about Jesus as a human will generate questions and answers to what your heart is saying.
2) Second goal is to recreate and hold space for Him in pop culture. In other words: Reclaim the Lord in society through the power of imagery which is stacked against us with advertisements, gross entertainment and social conformity. If we add much more imagery of Christ in our lives via tee shirts, artwork, hats, or wherever throughout the day, that would remind us more of who He is, how we should act, what our purpose is, etc. and connect to our faith. I believe simply inserting His face more creates a more personal relationship with Christ and the ripple effect of those that would also see your displays would be glorious.
3) By creating various images of Christ, each human (should) connect with at least one portrait in the series that relates to their personality/understanding. Through that portrait, they can compare and contrast the other portraits to give them further perspective and interpretation of other art movements. This exercise allows us to see equality and love in our own unique way and hopefully uses this perspective to bridge across into our lives a little bit more.
By the end of this series, there will be 12 different Jesus portraits all stemming from central image and message. Each portrait is the exact same size and painted in a unique art movement/style. One of the 12 may be a sculpture, but I am taking it one at a time.
ART HISTORY NOTES: Check out the bottom of each portrait essay to get a little art history tour!
Take your time, fully process every thought and stay open to the Lord...
enjoy!