At his 10-year survey exhibition held at the Mornington Peninsula Art Centre in 1989, Br Patrick Henigan ofm was hailed in the introduction to catalogue as the ‘Don Robert of Australia’. Don Robert, the celebrated Benedictine monk and painter, was seen as the conscience of the French Lurcat tapestry revival in the late 1940s: so Hennigan may be dubbed as the conscience of the new spirit that evolved in Australian drawing from the late 1970s. His spiritual and artistic journey to gain this recognition, however, was hard fought. Continue reading “PATRICK HENIGAN – Devoted to God, St Francis and Art”
Honouring God’s Creation
Flowers in Church
One decorative item that plays an important atmospheric role in liturgical contexts is the floral arrangement. Natural flowers and plants have long been associated with celebrations of the liturgy – Eucharist, weddings, funerals – as well as devotions associated with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Blessed Sacrament. This tradition sits well with influential voices such as Pope Francis; his encyclical Laudato Si’ has called for a renewed appreciation for the natural world as God’s gift, a blessing that is vital for our common, human life but also one that is vulnerable to misuse. Continue reading “Honouring God’s Creation”
With Eyes Able to Contemplate
John Hawes and Margaret Rope
That is why artists, the more conscious they are of their ‘gift’, are led all the more to see themselves and the whole of creation with eyes able to contemplate and give thanks, and to raise to God a hymn of praise (John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 1999, no 1). Continue reading “With Eyes Able to Contemplate”
RON MUECK: Life and Death
Over the last twenty-five years, Australian artist, Ron Mueck (b. 1958), has become well-known for his hyper-realistic sculptures, generally of the human figure either much larger or smaller than life size. Every hair is painstakingly inserted in an eyebrow or a stubbly beard. Whether it is an enormous boy or pregnant woman, whether it is a miniature image of his dead father laid out naked, the sculptures create a sense of awe, wonder and contemplation in the viewer. Continue reading “RON MUECK: Life and Death”
GAIA, Earth
by Luke Jerram
The mighty sphere of the earth rotates slowly, suspended under the gothic arches of St Paul’s Cathedral in Melbourne. Seven metres in diameter and internally lit, it has been created to scale by Luke Jerram from detailed NASA imagery of the earth’s surface. (It is 1.8 million times smaller than the real earth.) Continue reading “GAIA, Earth”
Interesting References
The website of the Australian Catholic Historical Society is set up in sections and curates some interesting resources. It provides links to websites, book reviews and other resources, sometimes with illustrations. Continue reading “Interesting References”
STORYTELLING IN PAINT
Queenie McKenzie and the Spirit of Mary MacKillop
Art in our churches is generally quite static. The way art is used in aboriginal communities is often very different. The Creation or Gospel story will be painted and then the work of art is used in the liturgy or in the classroom to proclaim the scriptures. The artist holds the painting and tells the story as shown in the painting. For this example we return to Warmun (see George Mung Mung, Mary of Warmun on this website). We turn to one of Australia’s most well-known and respected aboriginal artists, Queenie McKenzie (c. 1915–1988). This work was painted in 1994 at the time of Mary MacKillop’s beatification.
SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, BENDIGO
Windows for God’s Light
During two thousand years of Christianity, one of the more identifiable ‘archetypal’ forms of ecclesiastical architecture is that of the Gothic cathedral. The term ‘Gothic’ in relation to architecture is associated with light, due to a number of influential structural and stylistic features, namely, pointed arches, ribbed vaults and flying buttresses which stabilised the structure. These lessened the need for masonry walls and enabled the insertion of large, stained glass windows. Continue reading “SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL, BENDIGO”
THE SCANDAL OF BARE FEET
The Religious Art of Jan Hynes
Jan Hynes is a contemporary artist living and working in Townsville, Queensland. She has painted many gospel stories in bright modern colours setting them in Townsville: in the Visitation, Mary and Elizabeth meet over coffee and mudcake; the Nativity is set, not in a stable, but in a service station with Joseph shown as a tradie and Mary carrying the shopping (see detail, left); she shows the adoration of the Magi on the Strand with Jesus being pushed in a stroller. Rooted in the local, Hynes situates the bible scenes in her neighbourhood on the coast of Queensland. Images of local plants, birds, and views of Magnetic Island establish a distinctively Australian context for us to rethink the gospel narrative. Continue reading “THE SCANDAL OF BARE FEET”
THE SACRED ART OF THE ICONOGRAPHER
The traditional art of making an icon is an exacting process requiring much skill and knowledge that can only be acquired over a long period of dedicated commitment to the art. The method that aligns best with the essence of the icon is classical painting with egg tempera, a technique of unknown origins from deep within the ancient world. Adopted and perfected by the icon painters of the early church in Byzantium, the technique has been passed down almost without change to be employed by the few icon painters in our age whose practice remains true to the tradition. Continue reading “THE SACRED ART OF THE ICONOGRAPHER”