![]() ![]() It was never done for the sense of rebellion. “No change that I have ever introduced into iconography has not come without incredible thought, sometimes even with discomfort. ![]() “I have a reputation for being a rebel, for breaking out of where I ‘should’ be,” said Br. “But an icon is not saying that a person is canonized an icon is saying that they are holy.”Īmong those icons is one of Dorothy Day, a Catholic convert who lived among the poor in New York City’s Bowery, sharing their discomforts for decades while calling for social justice. “In my youth and middle age, I painted a lot of peace and justice saints, and was criticized for painting icons of uncanonized people,” he said. He has also chosen to create icons of uncanonized people. Robert created, which was blessed by both the medicine men and a priest during Mass in their church. Their time of listening to one another resulted in the eight-foot-tall icon Br. Robert met with the medicine men of the Mescalero, and climbed Sierra Blanca, their sacred mountain, to pray. ![]() Instead he creates moving images of Christ in the “now”-as an immigrant facing a barbed wire fence, for instance-and in the context of various cultures, such as his Apache Christ, which celebrates the customs and beliefs of the Mescalero Apaches of New Mexico. Robert made the bold decision not to limit depictions of Jesus to the centuries-old “European face” characteristic of traditional icons. Francis and Sultan Malik al-Kamil in Egypt during the Fifth Crusade (see inset).Īlso popular are his many icons of Christ. One of his most popular icons portrays the historical encounter between St. “That coming out is an eschatological statement, reminding you that you are in the presence of God.”Ī retired Franciscan friar living at St. “Instead of inviting you into itself through realistic perspective, an icon, with inverted perspective, comes out to you,” he explained. The beginnings of Byzantine iconography can be traced back to the fifth century. He hopes to depict that radiance in each of his icons.Īn icon is a representation of some sacred person, such as Jesus or an angel or a saint, painted usually on a wood surface, and venerated itself as sacred. “They embodied it so well that simply by looking at them, you could see Christ.” “What inspires me about these saints is that during their lives, they became the Gospel,” Br. Robert learned about in his youth were Saint Seraphim of Sarov, a Russian monk who once tamed a ferocious bear, and Saint John of Bulgaria, a miracle worker who found solace living in the remote Rila Mountains. His grandmother wouldn’t talk much about life in Russia because of hostility in this country toward immigrants, but instead she shared stories of holy hermits who became saints.Īmong the mysterious hermits Br. His paternal grandparents emigrated from tsarist Russia in the early 1900s. His work has been strongly influenced by his experiences among the poor in many different countries, and it is rooted in his Russian and Franciscan roots. Robert has been creating innovative icons that depict “official” saints, but also holy persons not yet canonized. “That pause is an opportunity for our hearts to catch up with our minds.”įor more than 40 years, Br. ![]() “Good art has an immediate impact on us that causes us to pause in wonder,” he said. Robert Lentz, O.F.M., art holds the power to illuminate the myriad connections between academic studies and life. Bonaventure University Searchįor master iconographer Br. Athletic, Recreation & Fitness Facilities. ![]()
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