Has thou forgot me then? And do I seem now in thine eye so foul, once deem'd so fair? (Book 2, Paradise Lost)
I write and draw and play guitar and sing and paint, I talk a lot on here and sometimes try to work through painful awful stuff by writing about it. While I try to tag things appropriately so as not to carelessly trigger anyone, I am not always in a careful state of mind and sometimes neglect to do so, so please bear that in mind. She/her.
I mean the whole damn point of the Nativity story is that the supposed son of God (interpret Jesus how you fucking want, of course) was born to a couple of poor, exhausted peasants in the stable for the inn, and his first bed was a feeding trough for animals. That would nowadays be like a poor couple where the mother gives birth in a parking garage behind the motel because they couldn’t find a better place and nobody else would take them in. It’s a pretty gritty setting, and the idea is that God was reborn in some of the rock-bottom lowest circumstances. The only thing majestic was all the angels and shit, and of course motherly love
I get that a lot of the art portraying Madonna and Child as fabulously wealthy europeans in splendid robes and golden light was meant to glorify God + whichever nobility was sponsoring the artist, and while of course it’s genuinely beautiful art, it just always struck me as horribly missing the point, which is that the supposed son of God started in incredibly humble circumstances, among the kind of people that everyone else looks down on
‘Massacre des Innocents’ by Leon Cogniét, 1824. Although the Feast of the Holy Innocents is in a couple of days time, this painting is still really relevant in that it portrays Mary as how She really was: a scared refugee mum, so fearful that Her son was going to be one of the Innocents killed by King Herod.
I had to look at this like FIVE TIMES to register all the layers of symbolism going into the piece by Patterson.
The hoodie as a veil.
Weisman cigarettes
Each of them is haloed by an advertisement sticker.
No Vacancy sign on the motel.
Dove sticker over Maria’s head.
Neon sign with a star symbol also over Maria’s head.
The crown over the ‘Dave’s City Motel’ sign. “New Manger.”
The sign behind Jose’s elbow likely says ‘Herod.’
The wee little plant growing through the cracks at their feet.
It’s like a New Testament ‘I Spy.’ I love it!
Ugh.
New favorite interpretation of the nativity.
The paper at José’s feet has an advert for Shepard Watches
Maria’s hoodie says Nazareth High School
The sign above José’s head proclaims ‘Good News!’
This is incredible and lovely.
Dave’s City = City of David = Bethlehem (And with a crown emblem.)
The sign over Maria’s head has the “S” cut off, so it says “Ave” as in “Ave Maria”.
She’s sitting on a horse (which I’m guessing is symbolic of the donkey). The graffiti on the base of it says “Word” and “Flesh”.
The newspaper at Jose’s feet also has the words “glad” and “tide” below the shepherd part = the angels brought glad tidings to shepherds watching their flocks.
The side of the phone booth says “Zeke 34:15-16.” That part in the book of Ezekiel says, “
15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord.16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
“
This painting is so cool.
Reblogging I’m sure but worth it
Modern re-telling of the Nativity is awesome. ❤️✝️
![artistsbooksandmultiples:
“ Jenny Holzer
Survival: Finding extreme pleasure…
New York City, USA: Self-published, 1984
6 x 10"
Edition of 10 [+1 AP] signed copies
Text on cast aluminum plaque.
”](https://66.media.tumblr.com/27f37477b58ae63d6d16bc276f90bea7/tumblr_pkf0mljO2o1ssvjhxo1_250.png)
