Art at Newman

     Art and Catholicism have had a long and complex relationship. Whatever the particulars of that experience, the Catholic Church has for more than a millennium recognized that art reveals that which is transcendent. Moreover, art touches, immanently, something within human persons which yearns not only for the good, the true, and the beautiful, but also needs to be challenged by the unusual, the foreign, and even the terrifying.

     Art brings us pleasure and comfort, inviting us to move into that kairotic world which is beyond the limits of space and time. But art must also, on occasion, make us uncomfortable, challenge our easy presuppositions, and bring us out of our self-satisfied complacency. Understanding and embracing art as a gift from the God Who, we believe, became en-fleshed in Jesus, the Catholic Church encourages pastors and faith communities to celebrate artists and their art. At Newman we have tried to respond to that voice from the magisterial Church by commissioning three local artists to make our building more reflective of the God Who has created all things and pronounced them “Good!”

Images of Healing Grace

Nancy Whittington is an artist whose silk hangings have been displayed internationally as well as locally. Two works commissioned for Newman currently hang in the Chapel of Reservation of the Blessed Sacrament.
The current works began more than a year ago when she was researching ancient Christian symbols rooted in nature. As a result of an incident in her own life, Nancy wanted to express visually her sense of “healing grace.” These archetypal symbols invite others to reflect on the power of healing grace to transform their own lives.
A high priority for Nancy was that the pieces would radiate warmth and glowing light, even in the dimmest of light. This 10’ by 10’ room has as its principal focus the Tabernacle in which the Blessed Sacrament is reposed. The Holy Eucharist in the Tabernacle, surrounded by these luminous hangings, invites the prayer-er into quiet and contemplation.

The hangings rely on a central cross in conjunction with a number of swirls and a circular pattern. “You have this idea of God in his cosmic realm,” Nancy says. “The cross we associate with Jesus.” The pieces challenge us to understand God and Jesus as one. Nancy clearly saw the chapel affecting the works and the works affecting the chapel. She wanted the hangings to fit and to make visitors feel in the presence of God. She wanted them to create light. She wanted them to help create an environment for deep prayer and “to create a glowing presence” that could be seen and felt out in the sanctuary. Working with silk, Nancy painstakingly applied layer upon layer of dyes and appliques which slowly take the form she has designed. Because this hanging has so many layers, each time a person sees it some new aspect of the experience of healing and contemplation emerges. Nancy Whittington and her family live in Chapel Hill, and she is a long-time member of the Newman Parish.

Images of Mary

When Newman was made a “parish” some 30 years ago, it was given the official title, “Mary, Mother of the Church.” While this name has rarely been used, the role of Mary as the woman who first said, “Yes!” to Jesus and, therefore, who was the First Christian, is a well-established and important part of Catholic life. In addition, Mary is a vitally significant cultural icon in many parts of the world, notably in Central and South America. Since growing numbers of persons from these countries are attending the University and becoming part of Newman, having images of Mary is a way that we can show our appreciation for the presence of our sisters and brothers from these areas of the world. The multicultural reality of Newman is a cherished part of what makes our community so vibrant and alive.That, at any of our Liturgies, people from Liberia, the Philippines, Romania, South Africa, Guatemala, Vietnam, Mexico, Korea, Chile, Canada, England, and a host of other countries gather together is a grand testament to the value of ‘catholicity,’ i.e. universality. We strive to be a welcoming and inclusive community of faith. These factors combined to make the commissioning of the “Images of Mary” an important part of our community’s building renovation.

Genevieve Cotter is a multitalented artist whose paintings have been featured at the Somerhill Gallery and whose poetry and short stories have been published nationally. She is a native of Montana and a member of the Newman Parish. Gen’s four “Images of Mary” reflect ‘titles’ given to the Mother of Jesus in the traditional Marian Litany, prayed by Catholics for centuries. The Latin inscriptions in each of the paintings reflect those titles. Mary is portrayed as a young white woman, pregnant and confused. The Madonna with her Child is an Hispanic woman. The African-American Mother with the Crucified bespeaks every mother’s nightmare. And the fourteen year old Cause of Our Joy is a Jewish girl who has given her “Fiat” to the Archangel. These artistic images reflect Mary in different cultures, races, ages, languages, and religions, and in doing so they remind us of the breadth of our community.

Sculpture of Mary

The sculpture of the Blessed Mother was received from Rome in 1999, and now stands behind the altar to its right. The scultpure was carved from the wood of the beautiful Linden tree. It has been said that if the light hits it just right, the sculpture appears as if it were made of porcelain. The level of detail is exquisite, depicting Mary holding the baby Jesus. The sculpture stands at the front of the sanctuary to remind us all or our heavenly mother.

The Light of Life

The Newman building is defined by right angles and straight lines. In the Lobby we wanted a sculpture which would give contrast with its circular movements. Local artist Gretchen Lothrop’s stainless steel work provided precisely the kind of dynamism which our space demanded.

Functionally, “The Light of Life” serves several purposes. Since the fons et origo of Catholic worship is the Eucharistic Sacrifice of Bread and Wine, an appropriate place for the unconsecrated species is important. The paten on which the Bread rests and the container for the Wine both have specially designed receptacles on the sculpture where they await presentation in the Offertory Procession.

One of the most significant parts of the gathered community’s prayer is interceding for the Church and the world. The Parish Book of Intentions, in which individuals are invited to write their own prayer concerns, is also kept on the sculpture in an easily accessible place.

The Scriptures tell us that Christ is the “light of the world” as well as the light of the Church and the light of each individual believer’s life. Therefore, Gretchen designed the work in such a way that small candles could be lit in a variety of places on the sculpture. The stainless steel reflects the light of these candles, giving it an ever-changing appearance depending on the candle-light.

The Trinity has been called the most sublime of Christian Mysteries. The Three-in-One God is evoked by the three large arcs at the top of this piece. In each of these arcs a candle stands, connecting the Eternal Light to the personal concerns represented by the smaller votives.

When a viewer approaches “The Light of Life” he or she changes the work as the stainless steel reflects the image and presence of the on-looker. So, the observer becomes a participant in the work of art itself, incapable of escaping it. In this way, then, “The Light of Life” reflects our understanding of the God Who gently and persistently invites all creation into ever-deeper relationship with the Divine Life. Gretchen also sculpted stainless steel Holy Water Fonts, or sconces, and the 14 Stations of the Cross, intentionally using the same medium and replicating some of the lines and form of the massive sculpture. “They have the same polish and feeling of calligraphy that the sculpture does,” she said. “There’s a fantastic continuum from the sculpture to the fonts to the stations.”

The Light of Life Sculpture is a gift from the Michael Potter family.

The Trinity Altar

Commissioned in 2000, Gretchen Lothrop and Rich Komisar blended their individual talents to create a Sacred Table for the Eucharistic Feast. The Trinity Altar is a combination of stainless steel and wood.

 

The base of the Altar consists of stainless steel spheres which support a table top made of Quartersawn Brazilian Cherry wood. The three primary spheres in the base represent the Three Persons of the Most Blessed Trinity. These stainless steel ‘circles’ are accented with wood which also feature a Trinitarian design. The inner core of each wooden inlay is of quilted maple and this interior stripe is bordered on either side by bands of cherry wood. The base, then, has a Trinitarian motif repeated three times three times.

The Altar top is of polished cherry. Precisely in the center of the top of the Altar is a Jerusalem Cross made of the quilted maple which is found in the accents on the base of the Altar.

 

 

 

The Altar was dedicated on October 22, 2000, by the Most Reverend F. Joseph Gossman, Bishop of Raleigh.
The Trinity Altar is a gift from Newman parishioner, Richard Kenney, in memory of his late wife, Maureen Joy Kenney.

Mother of the Dispossessed

Executed by Gretchen Lothrop, who did the Trinity Altar, the prie-dieu in the Blessed Sacrament Chapel, the Stations of the Cross, the Holy Water fonts, and the Light of Life in the lobby, and now responsible for the new “Mother of the Dispossessed.”

 

Inspired by a painting of the Madonna cradling her newborn Son, the sculpture which now graces the Pittsboro Street entrance to our building reminds us of Mary’s concern for the least among us, for the marginalized, for those unwelcome by ‘polite’ society. Mary has throughout history been the special protector of the hungry and those who, like her, are lowly in the sight of the rich, the rulers, and the arrogant of mind and heart. The stepping stones around the new sculpture name some of the dispossessed who are Mary’s special wards.

 

At night the Mother of the Dispossessed is encased in a campanile of light reaching up to the heavens. Visible from some distance this shaft of light beckons all who are weary and heavy laden to come the well of living water and drink the refreshment that God offers us in Jesus.

 

One of the primary ministries of the Newman Parish is to welcome as a gift every person God sends through our doors. At times we are better at this than at others; nevertheless, it remains our goal. So during the daylight hours the Mother of the Dispossessed embraces every person who walks past with her tender embrace. And during the night time the luminous stream invites those yearning for acceptance in the darkness.

The money for this sculpture has been the result of careful management by our parish Finance Council and our remarkably gifted Parish Administrator, Kathy Martyn, as well as the generosity of those who paid their pledges to the Diocesan Capital Campaign.