Deus Lo Vult or God Wills It! Part 1The battle cry inspired by Pope Urban II that began an era of some of the darkest day’s of mankind existence known as the Christian crusades. A time referred as the Dark Ages when Christian crusaders clashed with Muslim warriors over the most celebrated piece of holy dirt in all the world, the city of Jerusalem. First of all, this project has been on my heart for over a year and it is one that might be a little controversial and will most likely offend many of the people who view the completed work. A not so complimentary look at organized religion from this artist’s perspective. Second, many people over the years have asked me if I have ever documented the progress of one of my works. No I haven’t until now. So I hope that these raw pictures and my comments will help you better understand all the creative processes I utilize and how the artwork will evolve in the next several weeks.
About a year ago I came across a painting by an unknown artist in the 1400's. I thought the composition was amazing in its color and in its passion in illustrating a battle from the crusades. I felt it would be a perfect backdrop for this painting. A sort of work within a work. I will be attempting to capture a very dark period of human history initiated by the Christian crusades all the way up to the beginning of the Reformation period and Martin Luther. The figure I use in the foreground is that of a young Luther taking up his sword on the threshold of his call to ministry and I believe he best represents this time of reform and change. The sword represents reform throughout the ages and one of the principle’s means that man has brought it about in the name of religion. I will also be incorporating images of dragons and fire to represent a renaissance era that has been so romanticized in modern times to the point that it’s evil religious inspired deeds’ has been mostly lost or forgotten
Religion: The Darkest Kingdom within a Man’s Soul
"Man is a religious animal. He is the only religious animal. He is the only animal that has the true religion—several of them. He is the only animal who loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat, if his theology isn’t straight. He has made a graveyard of the globe in trying his honest best to smooth his brother’s path to happiness and heaven." Mark Twain
This painting will represent a family tree that claims the patriarch Abraham as its father. The recognized father of the three major monotheistic religions, Judaism, Islam and Christianity. To look upon our pale blue planet from a distant world you would never know it has been infested with a deadly virus. A virus that has mutated from one common source from the land of Ur of the Chaldee’s located in the Middle East to overtake the world we live in today. The deadly virus of organized religion.
Each week I will post several pictures of the progress of this painting @ www.InChristVictorious.com along with more of the dark thoughts that have inspired it. I guess this is my anti-religion statement and personal belief that religion is truly a monster whose characteristics include fanaticism, greed, lust, and is often fueled by the most evil of all motivations, the indulgence or money laundering in the name of God. The Catholic church may of instituted the indulgence but modern day preachers’s of the Word have taken it to a whole new level of the con under the guise of religious charity and soul harvesting.
Finally, the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ is the natural enemy of any religious thought or action. Jesus never came to start a revolution or a reformation in the way religion has dictated from the time of Abraham. His reformation was to begin in the individual heart of those who believe and His Kingdom is one of the conscience and right living.
James Robert Kessler
Because of Him art Ministry 2008
No comments:
Post a Comment