Given the assignment to take an image of God, this is my image. I suppose I'll explore it a little more, but first I'll take a look at the two previous images of God that I posted: Caravaggio's Doubting Thomas, and Sally Mann's untitled image. In Caravaggio's image, God is portrayed in a very concrete way, through the humanity of Jesus. Although the clothes and people look normal enough, the people appear to be Caucasian, and the clothes suddenly strike me as cleanly pressed and fresh. In this subtle way, perhaps, there is a hint at the staged nature of it all. However, it clearly portrays a scene from the gospels after Jesus' resurrection. In this way, it helps us envision what it could have been like to actually touch Jesus again. The manner in which Thomas is touching Jesus is definitely thought provoking... leading us to consider Christ's humanity and God in a new way or more deeply.

In Sally Mann's image, by contrast, I see an abstract image of God. This can help in considering the overall nature of God, or even a specific aspect of his divine nature, because he is Spirit- by nature not limited by physical things. By being abstract there is a freedom in presenting God's nature, which is beyond definition or the concrete. Because we identify with kids, we follow their gaze and look with them at the fire, reflecting then what that could be telling us about God. The black and white nature of the photograph also focuses the picture, and creates a muted intensity that would not have otherwise existed (also interesting when thinking about how that reflects God).

In light of those two images, I find my image to more clearly resemble that of Sally Mann's because of it's abstract nature. Since it doesn't have historical background to tie it to the time of Jesus or even an embodied story, I think the meaning behind the image is much less readily apparent and not as clear over all. That in itself has it's pro's and con's as it can expand to mean several different things, or simply confuse viewers and not convey meaning at all. It is similar to Sally Mann's also in the the lack of vibrant color. I find this to be a great asset, however, making it more riveting and compelling. Although it reflects no human face, I find it similar to Caravaggio's image in that it can be interpreted to touch on Jesus' humanity, limited-ness. Also I find that the lack of action stops me and makes me ponder. I like that.

Do let me know your thoughts--how you see this as an image of God, or don't. What feelings it evokes or questions it creates. I'd be happy to hear them.