Art Inspiration Tour
Crystal Bridges Museum

We begin at the heart, a symbol of love, surrounded by tables at the Eleven café. Love opens the discourse on this last night and closes it in the final prayer.

In his final day before his crucifixion, Jesus brings together his disciples again. At a table. In an upper room borrowed for the purpose. To share an ancient meal symbolic to their cultural heritage as Jews and about to take on new covenant meaning. The identity of Christianity was to be how they loved each other. It was to be the mark of God on them.

A single valentine form at monumental scale, roughly nine and a half feet wide, crowned by a magenta ribbon. The high-chromium surface mirrors the whole room, so the work keeps changing as you move around it and at different times of day. Koons called it a symbol of warmth, humanity, spirituality, and romance.

Note the use of materials, the scale, and symbolism.

Jesus promises another Helper, the Spirit of truth, who will be with them and in them. Right before the upper room discourses, in chapter 12:46, Jesus calls himself the "light" and promises a way out of the dark through belief in him.

Note the figures dressed as Pierrot hold glowing gold lanterns against a deep blue night — the famous "Parrish blue." Parrish built color in meticulous layers of pure pigment and glaze for this jewel-like glow, creating a contrast between light and dark. A few distant spheres stay ambiguous: perhaps lanterns, perhaps the moon.

Jesus described himself as light and we are called to be light bearers. And sometimes, as the Gospels honestly show, we are clowns and act unworthy of the grace we've been given. Thankfully in the gospel and in art, light represents hope and guidance.

This Passover meal (described first in Exodus 12) begins at sundown, the start of the Jewish day, and at the sunset of Jesus' life and ministry.

Note that this scene is of sunset — in the intermediate time between day and night. That meal of unleavened bread contained the same tension. The artist believed there was a direct correspondence between the natural and spiritual realms.

Note the colors of dusk and how it is shown in the light and shadows of the grass and homes, and the dark clouds on the horizon. Is it a scene of peace or dread? Was that Passover meal light and lively or heavy and tense?

Jesus compares their coming grief to a woman in labor, whose anguish turns to joy when the child is born. "Madonna and Child" imagery permeates the history of visual art since Renaissance days.

Note the look on the mother's face as she looks down on her child. What emotions do you see? Notice the gentle placement of her hands.

This Cubism-inspired piece focuses on tender family dynamics, perhaps against the backdrop of futurist technology and the energy of modern life. What is in the background and foreground, and what might they represent? The painting is on burlap — contrast the rough texture with the tenderness of the subject.

O'Keeffe, in one of her most famous pieces, gives you a single bloom, fully open, rooted and at rest — the most literal picture of a branch drawing its life from the source. Jimson Weed, itself a poisonous nightshade, is commonly found in disturbed soil, such as roadsides and vacant lots. The flower is only made possible by its connection to the plant.

Note how the scene is zoomed in: a white flower magnified to fill four feet of canvas, cropped so tightly you cannot see past it. O'Keeffe said that holding a flower and really looking at it makes it your whole world for a moment. Here the image doesn't show much detail of the vine, but focuses on the results of the vine. What is shown vs. obscured?

The fact that this beautiful flower is a toxic weed is interesting. We all bear fruit — flowers that are either the result of the Spirit or of other influences. How can you depict abiding?

Note: The grounds are filled with additional floral and fruit artwork. Near Gallery 6, use your phone camera to zoom in tight to things you see — make it your world for a moment.

Judas takes the bread and is excused to activate his betrayal, and John adds three of the heaviest words in the Gospel: "and it was night." Bellows paints laborers at the bottom of a vast pit: digging in the dark, working toward something they cannot yet see. It holds both the night of betrayal and the unseen work that goes on inside the dark.

One of Jesus' two unanswered prayers is also in these chapters: the priestly prayer that his followers be completely unified. The second (that "this cup would pass") was prayed later that night in the Garden of Gethsemane (see Mark 14, Matthew 26, and Luke 22).

A cavernous pit lit only by a small campfire throwing sparks into the dark. Loose, energetic brushwork and a nearly black palette make that single flame matter. Note the high contrast between black and yellow. How does the contrast enhance the light?

Look at this piece through your phone camera's auto-adjust and you will see more detail exposed. A different lens exposes more meaning. What about God's nature, or our own condition, can't we see with our limited perspective?

Bellows painted the site of Penn Station. At its peak, 100 million passengers a year passed through. Sometimes a "work in progress" doesn't reflect the final vision.

Jesus takes the lowest job in the house, washing his disciples' feet (over their objections), and tells them to do the same. Biggers paints a garbage man doing the lowliest labor in this piece. Feet play a prominent element in the image as the man's shoes are broken and exposed.

The color is rich and the figure is gently distorted and enlarged, given the weight of a monument. The clutter in the foreground and exposed toes speak to "messiness" and humility, while the oversized hands grasping the cart and the resolve on his face speak to steadiness and dignity.

Look at the various items in the scene: the lock and barred windows, the banana and fish, the eaten apple and broken board. What do you suppose the artist intended to communicate with these choices?

At a meal that remembers deliverance of the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt, Jesus reminds them that they are not slaves, but friends of the Lord.

Tanner was the first African American painter to win international acclaim, the son of a mother who escaped slavery on the Underground Railroad and a bishop in the AME Church. He himself had an exodus to France where he honed his art. The piece echoes the Passover deliverance and may have represented for the artist the American story of bondage, freedom, and the enduring care of a savior who loves us.

Tanner works in deep blues and dusky tones. The shepherd and flock nearly dissolved into atmosphere and light. Note the rough and unrefined texture of the paint and its contrast to the sweet color palette.

Tanner uses classic 2D proportions — note the placement of the shepherd at 1/3 from the left edge and the herd of sheep 1/3 from the bottom. How might you play with layout and composition?

The discourse ends in a prayer for oneness. The purpose of unity isn't to avoid awkward conflict or to be happy. The purpose of unity is to help the world to believe. As unity is so rare, that when it occurs, it has to be from God. This passage is a yet unanswered prayer.

Haring's work is said to be a baby and a barking dog in one figure. Echoing our Corinthians series: how do members with different functions share one body?

Note: A new dedicated exhibit to Keith Haring just opened this month.

Bright red, with bold black shapes, two heads leaning over their shoulders toward each other. Are they playing or fighting? Yelling or conversing? Are they one entity or disparate?

What does unity mean to you? How does unity point the world to Jesus? How could you depict unity in your art as a testament to a world so divided?