Hope and Change

Truly one of the greatest popes of the modern era was the saintly one whose memory we venerate today: St. Pius X (R. 1903-1914). His Holiness had some interesting thoughts on hope and change that bear repeating before we plunge back into the election cycle headlong.

On Hope:

'Hope has been the sole companion of my life, the greatest aid in doubts, the strongest assistance in my weakness; hope, but not the hope in men, such as is thought to bring greater happiness and instead brings greater disaster, but hope in Christ, supported by the celestial promise that He will strengthen the weakest of men with a greatness of soul and divine help.'

and Change:

'Indeed, the true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators: they are traditionalists.'

Pope St. Pius X, pray for us!

Back from vacation

We just returned from our traditional summer camping trip to Ithaca, New York (my family has been going off-and-on for about twenty years). It's always something I look forward to each year. This year's iteration was lovely: beautiful scenery, delicious pizza, shooting stars at night, and notoriously changeable weather! Ok, maybe not so much loveliness on that last point, but we still had a good time.

Below is a view of my favorite part of the gorge trail in Robert H. Treman State Park. 

An Art Deco Altar (plus some artistic ranting)

I am an avid admirer of the Art Deco period of American architecture and design, and this little liturgical flight-of-fancy attempts to reconcile the aesthetics of that era with the ancient traditions of the Church.

The altar is arranged in a manner reminiscent of the English Gothic, with the reredos sandwiched, as it were, between two turret-like piers. Crisp 45 and 90 degree angles dominate the composition and anchor the aesthetic program in artistic milieu of the earlier half of the 20th Century. Wrightian influence lurks in the background.

Three rather traditional icons are framed by slender concrete mullions. Iconographically, I borrowed from our Eastern brethren and depicted Christ Pantokrator (the Last Judge), flanked by the Blessed Virgin and St. John the Baptist. This arrangement is the default for the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic iconostasis - the typically ornate screen that separates the sanctuary from the rest of the church. Floral patterns in gold and green dominate the remainder of the reredos, alluding to our eventual restoration, through Christ, to the purity of Eden. Two angels crown the concrete piers and bear the instruments of the Passion.

The altar itself is a monolithic piece of reddish stone that is slightly tapered, evoking the image of a sarcophagus or coffin. It is through Christ's death that we are justified before God. Thus, the tomb symbolism is apt for the celebration of the Holy Mass, itself the re-presentation of Christ's very death. A gilded Chi-Rho adorns the front of the altar, reinforcing the Christ-as-altar-of-sacrifice theme. The tabernacle is front and center, surmounted by a gold crucifix and flanked by the six candlesticks peculiar to our Roman Rite traditions.

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This is clearly a traditional altar, well-grounded in the liturgical traditions of the Catholic Church, but it is also clearly modern in its aesthetics. In reading about various new churches being built in classical styles (though a laudable trend), I am slightly discouraged that we are merely 'swinging the pendulum back' towards things that are artificially antiquarian. Contemporary trends in our liturgical discussions are busy equating traditional Catholicism with (usually) Gothic or Baroque art and architecture. While I don't think that Catholic liturgy can survive on what is currently described as modern architecture, I think that aspects of modern design and construction can be successfully merged with other older building traditions. This very synthesis was occurring in small doses in the late 1950s and early 1960s before the floodgates of the 'Spirit of Vatican II' brought forth a deluge of utilitarian, soulless, ugly churches. I think of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore as a decent example of where we left off.

Some Travel Posters

Yesterday, I was seized with an art attack and, in the productive fury that followed, I produced two 15x20 paintings of which I am rather proud. They are the first in an eventual series of paintings of Australia that hearken back to old travel posters (and postcards) of the early 20th Century.

This first painting is of the town of Byron Bay and its lighthouse. Byron was only fifteen minutes up the road by bus from Lennox Head, so I visited rather frequently. It has an absolutely beautiful beach with some fine hiking trails up the the lighthouse and the point pictured at the bottom left. Incidentally, that point is the most easterly spot on the Australian continent. In the bay are the Julian Rocks, pictured at the left of the lighthouse. This was a popular SCUBA and snorkel location for many of our Australian group. 

Artistically, I am pleased with how this one turned out. The red lettering is probably something I won't ever do again as it was a very tedious task to keep the hue vibrant (since this is all watercolor). However, I am particularly happy with the water. The shading of the waves is convincing. 

The second poster is shown above. This image takes the form of an imagined advertisement for the devilishly-delicious banana pancakes found at the cafe of the Lennox Head Surf Lifesaving Club. The pancakes, topped with ice cream, bananas, and syrup, are shown in the foreground. A hint of sunrise and the 'head' of Lennox fill out the background. I was a little leery of the color palette on this one, but I think it turned out decently. Though it is not realistic at all, I do like how the water turned out, with the hint of pink near the horizon. This one might get taken in to Photoshop and touched up a bit, particularly the lettering on the bottom. 

The series will continue with a painting of King's Park in Perth and the Great Ocean Road. I should have a customized set of painted memories pretty soon here if I keep my brushes busy