The Gift Of A Bronze Eagle
As I am completing this assignment on Visual Faith, I am on assignment here on the tropical, Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. Yes, missions is a tough job, but someone has to do it. As I am “suffering for the Lord” in this beautiful three story hacienda located on the northern coast of the island in the beautiful gated community of Treasure Point, I am reflecting on the art that is to be found in the Pastor’s home that I am being “confined” to. This couple has traveled to many nations, and like all world travelers, they have collected art from various destinations of the world most were acquired as gifts given in gratitude for the loving ministry individuals had received. From the classical high art to the celebrated popular forms all are represented in this lovely home. One piece in particular captured my attention for quite some time.
In their front entry room sat a large bronze eagle. Situated on a 21 inch table the eagle’s wings reaches the height of 5 feet 3 inches. The piercing gaze of the eagle’s eyes is right at 4 feet off the tile floor. The wing span is just over 2 1/2 feet across. The estimated weight of this bronze work is around 150 lbs. I stood there while the pastor and his wife prepared breakfast, set the table, and eventually had to bid to pull away as I was enamored by the beauty and shear magnitude of this piece of work. Having Dyrness’ work milling around in my head I was more sensitive to what I was experiencing and therefore more conscious of what sensations and directions my soul and spirit were being moving in.
Appreciation for the excellency of craftsmanship was my first impression. As I valued the magnitude of the sculpture I relished in the intricacies of elaborate and fine detail. Each feather forming the overall plumage was so detailed I could feel the very fibers as I grazed my hand over them. The beak was sharp and strong as, well bronze. The talons were galvanized in a semi-clenched state as if ready to spring on a prey. The clear brown eyes cast a menacing gaze at onlookers. As the wings are set and preparing for a down stroke of immense strength from the brisling muscles flexing on the eagle’s back I was moved from appreciation to something more spiritual.
I was in awe. Not so much at just this representation, but being moved beyond the symbol in front of me to awe the God who created the creature behind the artist’s inspiration, to such ability that this God gives to men, and the dedication that the artist had to give proper and right dignity to the magnificent work of his hands. My thoughts turned to praise of my Lord and through this beauty before me I found connectivity to worship.
This is as Dyrness points out the true purpose of visual art, to see into the beyond and thus to engage in worship, not of the image, but the one represented by the image. Unfortunately as Dyrness pointed out that the council of Trullo in A.D. 692 repudiated earlier symbolic art of the church in favor of depicting Christ only as a man “in remembrance of his actual incarnation, passion, and the universal redemption available in him.”[1] This decision affected both the symbolic quality of art and the fundamental narrative intent. Yet it is in beauty and the symbolic nature of that beauty that if rightly directed one will see God. And there in lies the entanglement of right teaching and right observing.
Dryness remained us again of how intertwined the writings of the both theological leaders and philosophical leaders through time had such bearings on the development of artist and their work as well as how the audience ought to enjoy such work. Through the lack of good teaching the icons eventually evolved to a state of “proxy” and thus served as not only a representation of the person who was visible in the art but actually became “transparent: that is, one could see through the image to the sacred presence it represented.”[2] Eventually homage was paid to these portraits in reverence and adoration, continued to this day as I saw in the orthodox church of Russia. This should have never been allowed to be so. Art should do more and be more than the end result of man’s worship.
Art should not only embody an order or decorum that the audience desires to emulate but also the dignity of the ordinary man’s life as Gustave Courbet and the Impressionists that followed him in the nineteenth century attempted to present. Though immensely criticized for painting ordinary life and the common man in reality the practice was as Dryness puts it, “a bracing experience.”[3] It is my humble opinion that this form of art lifted and returned to the canvas not only the symbolic nature of the heavenly realms but also depicted the fact that the heavenly realms have come to dwell with man. In our common everyday life we too are surrounded by the glory of God. Yes, art ought to point to the celestial kingdom in the beyond but also, through the depiction of ordinary scenes, points us to the reality that God with His “beyond-ness” has chose to dwell with man in the here and now. As Lynn Aldrich says “the world is charged with the grandeur of God.”[4]
So in the shadow of a big, heavy, bronze bird, I experienced the grandeur of God and glorified my Lord as I drunk in the beauty that pointed me forward and back to the God of all creation and of all that is truly beautiful. As only an artist of words and not one of any other type of medium I must be faithful to assist the child of God to always seek the creator and not the creation. It is our duty to both support and encourage the continual visual faith with careful theological and historical understanding and be always ready to incorporated this understanding as we both attempt to express and appreciate all the art around us.
[1]William A. Dyrness, Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue, Engaging Culture 1 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2001), 36.
[2]Ibid., 35.
[3]Ibid., 105.
[4]Ibid.
About the Author
Mitch Arbelaez
International Mission Mobilizers with Go To Nations Living and traveling the world from Jacksonville Florida2 responses to “The Gift Of A Bronze Eagle”
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It is always amazing how much our reading each week influences the things we see and experience. Thanks for bring your “eagle” into this discussion. While there is always much to admire in terms of craftsmanship, you rightly stress the importance of looking beyond the art and into an encounter with God. In the latin american countries where you visit, how do those churches approach artistic representation, knowing that in many of those countries the catholic church influence has been so strong?
Indeed Deve, the Catholic church does influence much of the religious expressions in the Spanish speaking world. I speak to many born-again spanish speakers and the majority of them were raised Catholic, including myself. One lady here in Puerto Rico made the statement, “to be Spanish is to be raised Catholic.” Since I primarily work with protestant churches I am only rubbing elbows with “former Catholics.” One thing I do see in these LA nations outside the church is the attachment to jewelry. You can speak to a tattooed fill gangster, which is an entire art form and window all to himself, and he will have a crucifix or a patron saint around his neck. He points to the symbol as his assurance that God is always with him as he fights for life in the streets killing and pillaging to stays alive. It is sad that the wearers of such icons do not have a personal relationship that they can rely on that goes beyond the little medallion of human craftsmanship. Like the scene in the Hunger Games regarding the Mocking Jay pendent. “Here, wear this pin, it will keep you safe.”