What a gift it has been to get back into the rhythm of painting and the sacred process of creating with natural materials from the earth. I grind mineral and earth pigments and mix them together with traditional binders of egg yolk or oil.
I’ve been reflecting upon this process and drawing inspiration from Contemporary artist Makoto Fujimura, trained in traditional Nihonga Japanese painting techniques. To a single work he may apply as many as a hundred layers of paint, pulverised by hand from such substances as gold, silver, platinum, cinnabar and malachite. As Fujimura describes it, beauty necessarily requires pulverization. It is out of our trauma, our griefs, and our shame – even our longings that are at times painfully unrealised – that the most powerful acts of the creation of beauty emerge.[1]
He writes, ‘The surface of my ‘slow art’ is prismatic … if the eye is allowed to linger on the surface… the observer can begin to see the rainbow created by layer upon layer of broken shards of minerals. Such a contemplative experience can be a deep sensory journey toward wisdom. Willingness to spend time truly seeing can change how we view the world, moving us away from our fast-food culture of superficially scanning what we see and becoming surfeited with images that do not delve beneath the surface.’ [2]
This is a contemplative, prayer-like process. Fujimura writes that ‘Art making, to me, is a discipline of awareness, prayer and praise.’[3] He describes his practice as a ‘Theology of Making;’ a ‘devotional liturgy of sorts.’[4]
For my portrait paintings of women who have been forcibly displaced, I use early Renaissance tempera painting methods and gold leaf. The use of gold leaf for my paintings of women, survivors of violence and forced displacement, is symbolic of their sacred value and dignity regardless of what they have suffered.
Fujimura claims that artists show, intuitively, how to feel deeply the world around them.[5] For artists ‘feel deeply the wounds and agony of life along with its explosive potential. […] Therefore we need to consider the arts as a way to value life’s mysterious details and as a way to train our senses to pay attention to the world.’[6]
As a portrait painter I hope to communicate something of the sacred value of each individual in the eyes of God, regardless of race, religion, gender or social status.
Each individual we encounter bears the beauty of God. In Genesis three we read that God made man in His image – thus there is no greater revelation of God’s beauty on earth than the intricacies of a human being. There is no soul alive who does not refract some aspect of God’s nature. Since human beings are made in the image of God, the medium of portraiture can therefore perhaps perceived as sacred.
Mother Teresa spoke of ‘seeking the face of God everywhere, everything, everyone all the time. […] especially in the distressing disguise of the poor.’[7] How different it would be if we treated each and every individual as a reflection of the image of God and of equal value in His eyes. To approach one another with the same reverence and respect.
Perhaps our role as artists in the world is to recognise the divine spark in everyone and in all things and help to uncover it.
[1] Thompson, C. (2021). The Soul of Desire: Discovering the Neuroscience of Longing, Beauty, and Community. Inter Varsity Press. p. 207.
[2] Fujimura, M. (2016) Silence and Beauty. Intervarsity Press. p. 20
[3] Fujimura, M., (2020) Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Yale University Press. p. 3
[4] Fujimura, M., (2020) Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Yale University Press. p. 3
[5] Fujimura, M., (2020) Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Yale University Press. p. 107.
[6] Fujimura, M., (2020) Art + Faith: A Theology of Making. Yale University Press. p. 107.
[7] Mother Teresa, In the Heart of the World: Thoughts, Stories and Prayers, p. 33
1 comment
Such a pity you were not with us on Tuesday, Hannah – I can imagine some of your interventions in my presentation, based on this thoughtful piece……in particular your comment on “the arts as a way to value life’s mysterious details and as a way to train our senses to pay attention to the world”. So much of what we (I) do is rushed, not properly considered, reaction rather than reflection and response – it’s intrinsic in the culture, demonstrates a lack of love for ourselves and hence for our neighbours; it’s at the root of not caring…hence mis-using the earth and all that’s in it, instead of playing our part, sure of what that part is because we have taken the trouble to learn from/about ourselves and those we connect with…… thanks so much for sharing!