Mixed-Media Collage: World Heritage and Culture Series
Episode Two
The Icon's Offering
World Appropriate Icon, 2019. Mixed-media paper collage (8.5"x 12")
The Icon
A more ambiguous figure than the icons we are used to, this figure's characteristics are blurred and fractured like the religions of history, gut maintains the silhouette that remains a universal symbol. From the virgin Mary to the seated Buddha, the silhouette of the seated mystic or spiritual being is an ancient one.
What happens when the face is stripped and no longer assigned identity? What happens when the geometry of the space around the figure takes precedence over the who or what? The where and when become the important factors for mankind, and the unifying location we all share is a mutual one: Earth.
We all share a single physical and spiritual space whether we want to or not. Yet so many cultures and people fight over the specifics of where and who, that we lose sight of the universal truths that are apparent throughout. The where is our planet; the who is all of us. The universal woman/man is the very silhouette we all cast and attain just by being ourselves, and we all are reflections of this universal being.
The Offering (The Word)
Globalization has allowed people to learn not only the morals and principles of local faiths, but learn the themes that transcend the specifics and dogmas of religion by being exposed to other cultures. In art, cultures are quickly mended together, and commonality can be found no matter the extreme differences between the assimilated. In the 21st century it is possible to learn the meditative practices of monks from different faiths and come out even more the enlightened, specifically because they are accessible.
So long as biases are held back, and an open mind to cross-cultural dialog is maintained, then we can only learn more from the universal heritage of all the world's faiths and religions. In an environment where people celebrate difference, especially within faiths, all members benefit and prosper. Through conversation, tolerance and open borders, religion becomes a tool of empathy that can destroy boundaries.
The offering that each religion gives is the unrequited knowledge and wisdom of our histories and cultures, handed down and offered to anyone willing to listen, without bias.
So long as we are not afraid of new combinations of understanding and faith, and encourage the growth of love over hate, all forms of expression and questions of faith are nonetheless significant to mankind.