Yesterday I saw the most powerful artwork I’ve ever seen: Colin McCahon’s “Victory Over Death 2”.
I was at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and I lost interest in everything else I saw after it. It left me trembling and too emotional to speak.
It was painted on a huge loose canvas. The words “I AM” dominated the work, and portions of bible verses are scrawled on various panels of the canvas.
When I got home I had a quick look at some articles about McCahon that I downloaded from the internet. I read that the painting had been given to Australia by the New Zealand government and that the Australian press had treated the gift with derision and mockery.
An article included a copy of a cartoon mocking the painting’s “I AM” statement.
I confess that after seeing that cartoon I felt like a third Boanerges, wanting to call down fire from heaven in judgement.
____________
Information about the painting can be found here:
http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=57282
An image of the painting can be found here:
http://www.mccahon.co.nz/cm001502
I was at the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra and I lost interest in everything else I saw after it. It left me trembling and too emotional to speak.
It was painted on a huge loose canvas. The words “I AM” dominated the work, and portions of bible verses are scrawled on various panels of the canvas.
When I got home I had a quick look at some articles about McCahon that I downloaded from the internet. I read that the painting had been given to Australia by the New Zealand government and that the Australian press had treated the gift with derision and mockery.
An article included a copy of a cartoon mocking the painting’s “I AM” statement.
I confess that after seeing that cartoon I felt like a third Boanerges, wanting to call down fire from heaven in judgement.
____________
Information about the painting can be found here:
http://artsearch.nga.gov.au/Detail.cfm?IRN=57282
An image of the painting can be found here:
http://www.mccahon.co.nz/cm001502
