Wednesday, 21 December 2016

Emmaus O'Herlihy

Painting of the Merciful Fathher by Emmaus O'Herlihy


Painting of the Prodigal Son by Emmaus O'Herlihy


The paintings above were done by Emmaus O'Herlihy, the current artist in residence at the Dominican Institute of Toronto.

I took down these hasty notes from the artist's remarks, the most memorable of which was his concept of sacred space.

  • paintings require space, space to be seen, space which give place to 'the human gaze'
  • the postmodern world is impacting sacred art
  • theology is the connection between religion and culture, it is faith seeking understanding
  • theory of the human gaze - bold enough to discover new words and new expression
  • postmodernism demands that we retrieve the sacred in the contemporary, seek out new forms of subtler languages
  • sacred art acting on our senses for a contemporary spirituality creating sacred space between the viewer and the painting
  • the prodigal is the struggle of human nature, the refugee, the migrant crossing into lands not his
  • emphasize on the gaze
  • our wealth is the gaze of the Father's welcome, the face of Christ on us his prodigals
  • viewer becomes involved in the dynamic of God's mercy, the loss and the regaining of the prodigal's identity


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