Transcendence

I had gone into El Museo del Barrio to see one exhibition, Palante, and accidently walked into another, Rodriguez Calero’s  Martyrs and Latter Day Santos.  The series of paintings showcased African American and Latino/Hispanic individuals as saints and martyrs.  All painting subjects wore very casual clothing; the paintings were very expressive of the individuals’ personalities. Many of these people would be overlooked and/or stereotyped if seen on the street, however, here they were portrayed as regal and worth noticing.  This artist highlights the beauty of these people, and grants them strength by portraying and naming them the modern day saints and noting they are worthy of salvation.                                              

The paintings featured a reoccurring color scheme of either: blue, gold, and grey, or black and red. One of the paintings which struck me the most was, Transcendence which used the blue, grey and gold color scheme. It was the first painting I had seen when I walked into the exhibition, and it created a feeling which lingered with me and set the stage for the rest of the paintings.  The blue and the gold contrasted each other very nicely.  The colors are slightly off being complete opposites of each other.  

A grey, thick vertical line centered the painting and a gold strip brushed across the upper part of the painting forming a cross. The composition of the painting is such that regardless of where your eyes enter the painting, you’re forced to look at the center of the cross.  There you finding a man, head bowed.  Aside from the brilliant color scheme, the painting was printed with a very regal design.  This design lays mostly on lines that form the cross, and is therefore draped over the man; this somewhat emulates the idea that after salvation one becomes a son or daughter of the “King of Kings”, giving the individual the status of royalty as well.  The print creates a brilliant juxtaposition because the individual here is dressed in jeans and a tee shirt.

My initial interpretation was that this individual had just come to salvation.  It looked like an impactful and beautiful moment of self-surrendering to the cross and Christ; however, when showing the painting to others, they saw a man peeing on the cross.  According to my interpretation, this salvation story seems very humble. It also seemed like a hesitant sacrifice, where perhaps after some bargaining with God, this man just gave in.  His shoulders fall heavy, I’m sure weighed down by the burdens of life, however there is a happy feeling to it, perhaps because of the bright blue.

Compared to other salvation stories, like that of John, from Go Tell it on the Mountain or the experience of Jarena Lee, this one seemed pretty different. When John was saved, he was thrown on the floor, had visions and was confronted by his sin and fears and hatred. Similarly, Jerana Lee’s salvation story included visions and other worldly powers, so what causes these different denominations to have such different stories? My salvation story differs greatly from the other three.  Does the fact that their testimonies differ so much take away from accuracy of their experience, or does it add a level of uniqueness and individuality of each relationship with God?  Although the answer to this is unclear, it is clear through collections and artifacts like these that these experiences are real, pivotal and powerful moments to those who have them.