a consuming fire.

Though I've looked, I have not yet found the title of this photograph by Sally Mann. Born in 1951, Sally Mann grew up in Virginia and had her first photographic expedition in 1977 in Washington D.C. This picture is part of her third collection, titled Immediate Family, which was published in 1992. With 65 pictures in total, this collection follows her three kids in childhood activities, but also darker themes including death, insecurity, sexuality etc. The Wall Street Journal censored a photograph of hers and some accused her of producing child pornography, but "Mann herself considered these photographs to be “natural through the eyes of a mother, since she has seen her children in every state: happy, sad, playful, sick, bloodied, angry and even naked.' " Of her work, critics said that her “vision in large measure [is] accurate, and a welcome corrective to familiar notions of youth as a time of unalloyed sweetness and innocence." Time magazine awarded her "America's Best Photographer" in 2001.

(Information taken from wikipedia.)

When I look at this picture, it draws me in. Thinking about it in the context of finding images of God, this picture reminds me of Hebrews 12:29 which says that "our 'God is a consuming fire." This image, then, of kids sitting at a distance and watching a fire blaze strikes me. On one hand, they sit at a comfortable, and safe distance; on the other, there is a sense of fearful observation. I get the feeling that they were preoccupied with their picnic or whatever they were doing and have just recently looked up to notice the fire. If I relate this to us now, I think it reflects how all too often we sit at a safe distance and simply watch God-watch God with mixed feelings. Yet we are content to be at a distance. To me this is convicting. If I stop and think about it, I often find myself pursuing God and yet, somehow, there seems to be a distance. Whether that is a conscious choice or subconscious default, I don't know...but there is a difference between pursuing God and being consumed by God.

To this extent, I think this picture speaks truth and is thought provoking in the search of truth.

stop doubting...

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas was painted by Caravaggio between 1601 and 1602. Even though both chiaroscuro and realistic portrayals of people were applied in art during the century beforehand, Caravaggio played a large role in shaping the Baroque period of art by redefining them and making them more dramatic. The dramatic nature of his art was portrayed both in his wild personality and in the varied way in which his work was received by the public; he was well liked because of his intensity, but he also stirred up much controversy over the proper-ness of his paintings because of that realism. His use of chiaroscuro is clear in this painting, as we see the focused light and deep, impenetrable shadows.

I can understand why Caravaggio seemed to stir up controversy and why some disliked or rejected his work. When I look at this image, something within me wants to reject it as well. It is not the fact that Thomas is touching Jesus' side, but the way in which he is poking his finger into it. The expression on his face and the angle at which his finger is gives me the feeling that it could be a spear, cutting Jesus all over again--only this time with the doubt of Thomas. I guess to me this picture feels invasive... perhaps, among other things, invading the mystery of Jesus. That kind of begs the question of whether or not Jesus is, or should be mysterious. He came to earth to reveal himself and he appeared to Thomas welcoming him to touch his side. Why would he have welcomed Thomas to touch his side if he didn't want him to?

I think this image is both true and not true. Because the gospel of John doesn't say that Thomas did in fact touch Jesus' side, if we think about this picture historically, I would say that it is not true. However, if we look at it as descriptive of the present age, I think it could be true. Jesus welcomed Thomas to touch him and turn away from his doubt, and I think he welcomes us as well--not physically, but in many other ways he calls to us. I think the problem, however, is that often people poke at Jesus with criticism and cynicism-- not to believe, but rather to be convinced-- and holding on to their doubt...

... just some beginning thoughts

http://www.moodbook.com/art/caravaggio.html

A little background of this picture from Wikipedia:

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (The Young Ladies of Avignon) is a large oil painting of 1907 by the Spanish artist Pablo Ruiz Picasso (1881–1973). The work portrays five nude female prostitutes from a brothel on Avinyó Street in Barcelona. Each figure is depicted in a disconcerting confrontational manner and none are conventionally feminine. The women appear as slightly menacing and rendered with angular and disjointed body shapes. Two are shown with African mask-like faces and three more with faces in the Iberian style of Picasso's native Spain, giving them a savage aura. In this adaptation of Primitivism and abandonment of perspective in favor of a flat, two-dimensional picture plane, Picasso makes a radical departure from traditional European painting. The work is widely considered to be seminal in the early development of both Cubism and modern art. Demoiselles was revolutionary and controversial, and led to wide anger and disagreement, even amongst his closest associates and friends.

In class, Greg pointed me towards this picture to include in the discussion surrounding the picture I took of the girl in the picture frame wearing the mask. He explained the correlating themes of isolation and alienation, as well as theuse of masks. How does the background of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon affect the way you see my picture. Do you think there is any symbolic meaning or interpretation of what Les Demoiselles d'Avignon means in the 21st century? What about the significance of who is masked and who is not?

Although she is not alone in the picture, the girl in the middle is very much alienated from the rest of the group, which is also alienated from each other. Instead of the community represented in statues or artwork such as the Chartres Cathedral (1225) where the statues are presented talking with one another, everyone in this picture is absorbed in their own little world, separated by various forms of technology. Also, like the Greek riace warrior (440 B.C.), the girl standing in the middle has an air of confidence and power, demonstrated by her posture and the way in which she faces the viewer directly.

Taking a step back, the first thing my eyes are drawn to is the face of the girl in the middle, framed not only by a picture frame, but also by light. In the elegant black dress and the ornate mask, she holds the frame, presenting a picture of herself to the world the way she would like to be seen-- beautiful, confident, and in control. The mask, however, suggests that this picture of herself is not who she really is. Yet as she grips the picture frame tightly, with both hands, we can see that this false picture of herself is what she is putting her identity in. Although she tries hard to present a perfect picture, the frame is tilted just enough to suggest that she might not be as perfect as she seems.