My name is Olga Bakhtina. Once in a while, people ask me why I paint Christian scenes. Every time the question comes up it surprises me. What does make a mostly self-taught contemporary artist like me paint Christian stories when so few people do? Continue reading “GOSPEL THEMES IN PAINT”
HOLY MYSTERIES
Dr Rebekah Pryor is a visual artist and writer living and working on Boonwurrung/Bunurong Country southeast of Melbourne, Australia. She was a finalist in the 2018 Blake Prize and, from 2015-2018, the curator of Lamppost Gallery, a space dedicated to exploring contemporary art and Christian spirituality. She is an honorary postdoctoral associate at Pilgrim Theological College, University of Divinity. In 2021 she coedited Contemporary Feminist Theologies: Power, Authority, Love (Routledge) and her forthcoming book Motherly: Reimagining the Maternal Body in Feminist Theology and Contemporary Art is due for publication in early 2022. Continue reading “HOLY MYSTERIES”
ARTHUR BOYD AND SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI
Arthur Boyd’s wife, Yvonne, commented that Arthur was very fond of Saint Francis. This was undoubtedly true and yet in his perceptive and idiosyncratic way our artist turns the medieval legend on its head. The saint’s values of human brotherhood, non-materialism and engagement with nature are preserved, while the proselytising and, in Boyd’s eyes, control over others is sternly rejected. The medieval Francis felt himself to be divinely inspired while Boyd in the 20th century was alone with his fragile yet dogged sense of his own humanity. Continue reading “ARTHUR BOYD AND SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI”
COLOUR MEANINGS
The following notes on the meanings of various colours have been taken largely from Schuon (1956) and Cirlot (1984) for the major references to symbolism whilst Sloane (1980), Varley (1980) and Gage (1993) were mainly used for the more contingent or subjective meanings. Continue reading “COLOUR MEANINGS”
ACU ART COLLECTION Book Review
First Impressions: Indigenous works from the ACU Art Collection (Australian Catholic University, 2020).
A New Perspective, works from the ACU Art Collection (Australian Catholic University, 2020). Continue reading “ACU ART COLLECTION Book Review”
MARY OF WARMUN
This figure of the pregnant Mary, carved and painted by George Mung Mung (c1920–1991), is a significant work of Christian art and devotion that reflects the merging of Catholic and Aboriginal communities and systems of belief in Australia. Continue reading “MARY OF WARMUN”
THE GIFT OF THE EPHEMERAL
I acknowledge the Traditional Owners who have walked and cared for this land for thousands of years and their descendants who maintain these spiritual connections and traditions … Continue reading “THE GIFT OF THE EPHEMERAL”
CLIFTON PUGH, LANDSCAPE and SUFFERING
CLIFTON PUGH (1924-1990) was an Australian landscape and portrait painter. His engagement with the bush, however, stands in sharp contrast to the familiar landscapes of artists such as Arthur Streeton and Frederick McCubbin. Continue reading “CLIFTON PUGH, LANDSCAPE and SUFFERING”
ST MARY OF THE ANGELS CHAPEL ROSEBANK, FIVE DOCK, NSW
On Monday 11 January 2020, the last of the pieces of furniture were delivered for the refurbishment and reordering of the Rosebank Chapel. These are the primary pieces that will become sacred in the coming years as we, the People of God, do the ritual acts of Continue reading “ST MARY OF THE ANGELS CHAPEL ROSEBANK, FIVE DOCK, NSW”
A GOOD PARISH CHURCH OF 1987
Melbourne architect GREGORY BURGESS (b. 1945) is known internationally for public architecture which both expresses the spiritual and creates a unifying communal experience. His work has included arts and visitor centres, educational and health facilities. Continue reading “A GOOD PARISH CHURCH OF 1987”