The Good Friday exhibition, tucked away off of the main walkway of the Saint Louis University campus in the Museum of Contemporary Religious Art, displays the works of multiple modern artists, most of which are from the last twenty years. The artists’ styles vary greatly; the majority of the work is paintings as well as a small representation of sculpture and textiles, ranging the full spectrum from realism to abstraction. The MOCRA exhibition room is divided into a large central space flanked by three smaller alcoves of on either side. This division of space serves to create a personal and spiritual experience for the viewer, as each piece is experienced by itself or in the context of a small number of other works. Even in this modern exhibition, timeless Christian symbols are very prevalent, including Jesus’ crown of thorns and his burial shroud. Oftentimes these common symbols are in danger of losing the power of their original biblical context. The exhibition created a meditative space for contemplating the events of Good Friday by creating new meaning from these “overexposed” symbols.
The crown of thorns originally brings to mind scenes of Jesus being beaten and taunted by his persecutors. Two works stood out in their new use of the crown. In the work “Crowning with Thorns” by Michael David, a series of different sized panels are joined in an abstract composition thickly layered with paint. The form recalls an upside down crucifix which is usually associated with the death of St. Peter, but the title and a large imperfect ring of paint representing the crown of thorns suggest the death of Jesus. This dual association of Jesus and Peter elicit contemplation on the idea of martyrdom and reflection on the difficult Christian ideal of “being like Christ.” In another work “Don’t Mourn, Consecrate,” a large flowering crown of roses is paired with the emaciated corpse of Jesus and a cloud-filled background. The artist, Juan Gonzalez, died of AIDs, and the piece seems to reflect on and encourage a sense of hope in the afterlife. The flowering crown especially suggests new life.
One other piece that especially stood out to me in its quality of encouraging meditation used the symbol of Jesus’ burial shroud. In Steven Heilmer’s, piece “Pieta Stone/Meditation on the Last Temptation,” white linen wraps around a marble stone the size of a man’s torso. The marble is surrounded by tomb-like black granite tiles and cushions on which one is invited to kneel. It is an interesting feeling, kneeling in front of an abstraction of Jesus, with the most prominent figural quality being the burial shroud. The burial shroud is the also the most familiar quality about this faceless Jesus, and I found myself asking, Can Jesus be put into one human representation and is it possible to even comprehend who Jesus really was?
When I experienced the pieces I observed them alone, with only two SLU undergraduates who were working the exhibit talking softly to one another. The number of artists and styles was somewhat overwhelming at first; the viewer must be prepared to look at something entirely different when moving from one piece to another. The familiar symbols of Jesus’ crucifixion were there to pull me into each piece; it was only after I had experienced the piece that I realized the familiar symbol held a level of unexpected meaning. I left Good Friday in a thoughtful, prayerful state.