Here is a review by Dr. Deborah Sokolove, Director, Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion, Wesley Theological Seminary.
Our Lady of Perpetual Exhaustion, part 2
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| Cynthia Angeles, "Grief", oil on linen, 31" x 25" |
A few days ago, I attended the opening reception for the
Watergate Gallery
portion of Our Lady of Perpetual Exhaustion. Owner and Curator Dale
Johnson showed the work of 33 artists. Of course, Cynthia Farrell
Johnson and Helen Zughaib, as the instigating spirits of the show, were
represented, but since their work is so familiar to me, I spent most of
my time looking at works by artists who are new to me.
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| Nancy Frankel, "Lemmings", paint and toy cars, 54" x 60" |
As is true at the
Dadian Gallery,
a group show like this one shows many different, idiosyncratic
interpretations of the theme. Some works, like Nancy Frankel's
whimsical, yet insightful, "Lemmings", reflect stressful situations or
the multiple demands of everyday life. Others, like Cynthia Angeles's
balanced, harmonious, luminous, yet somber "Grief,"respond to the image
of "Our Lady" with images of women weighed down by burdens named and
un-named. Still others, like Alfredo Ratinoff's "42 Icons for the Relief
of Exhaustion," offer respite in references to the past, suggesting
that it is not only modern life that drives us to the brink of giving
up. As Ratinoff writes,
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Alfredo Ratinoff, "42 Icons for the Relief of Exhaustion",
glass and litho transfer |
The idea of the 42 icons for exhaustion relief was conceived with many
of the stories that I have used all my years as an artist: Romeo and
Juliet, Helen of Troy, Adam and Eve, Aphrodite, A Midsummer Night’s
Dream, Turandot, Tristan and Isolde, Aida, and others. These are not
icons in the traditional religious sense, but are icons in their own
right in that they represent various literary, epic, and historical
themes that over the course of human history have brought us respite
when we have felt exhausted or were on the verge of giving up. They
remind us of the best in ourselves. I believe that icons have a very
strong spiritual power that can help to bring us back to ourselves.
However, even icons need inspiration and often were spurred on through
the influence of a muse. Interspersed in this collection are a series of
muses, exemplifying their positive relationships with these icons. In
the midst of all of these characters and stories lies Our Lady of
Perpetual Exhaustion, her life a thread that has run through the course
of each of these tales and in the story of each of our lives.
http://luce-arts-and-religion.blogspot.com/2013/09/our-lady-of-perpetual-exhaustion-part-2.html
