I am embarking upon a new artistic venture of creating photographs of biblical stories. We’ve entitled this series “It’s in the Book” and have opened an on-line gallery for the photographs at The Gentry Joint.
Biblical stories are both captivating and mysterious. The interplay between God and humans is a story that never grows dim. The bible is filled with the drama of human emotion. To really benefit from the transcendence of these narratives, we must connect with their timeless emotion and enter into the stories ourselves. We can learn to see ourselves as an integral part of the drama.
Artists have been helping us to do this for centuries by creatively visualizing the biblical narratives and creating works to share their vision. Many of them contexualized the scenes by having the characters portrayed by local people in modern clothing. Though the models don’t necessarily look like people of the ancient Middle East, they were able capture something of the raw emotional truth in them and thereby evoke powerful responses from their viewers.
With the medium of photography I, too, am attempting my hand at constructing biblical scenes with a modern approach. Using local people, I am setting individuals down into extraordinary stories. The goal is to enable both subject and viewer to draw a fresh perspective on the meaning and impact these stories have for our world today.
When we read scripture, the ancient context may make it seem removed—having little to do with us. Yet by undertaking this project, I hope to stir emotion that will be revelatory. These characters from long ago are not so different from us as they attempted to respond to the divine in their own, human way. When we see them photographed in an everyday context, we can resonate with them and learn how their ordinary lives became extraordinary through faith.
Even in the early stages of this endeavor, I can see the project is already having an impact on those who participate in the work. They rise to inhabit the objectives of the narrative. Each subject draws upon their personal experience as a means to understand the challenges faced by a biblical personality. For a brief moment they are granted a firsthand glimpse into the life of a saint, prophet, king or peasant. It’s role-playing with a spiritual dimension.
As new scenes are created, Laura and I will continue with the blog coverage, teaching the viewers about the works and sharing a bit of our approach to each scene. I hope you will enjoy sharing in the process as much as we do. It is challenging but the rewards may be immeasurable.
Blog posts of photos in this series:
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