The Bounce of Spring 1936
God is in them all. Now I know that is all that matters.
The only thing worth striving for is to express God.
Every living thing is God made manifest.
All real art is the eternal seeking to express God,
the one substance out of which all things are made. Emily Carr
Yesterday was anniversary of the death of Canadian painter Emily Carr, a contemporary of the Group of Seven. Several members admired her work but they never seriously considered including her. I"ll share with you a blog entry about Carr from years past and links to a couple more in both Lion Lamb and Groundling. The first dates back to 2006, my first year blogging.
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Snowmageddon. Snowpocalypse. Interesting how biblical images have crept into descriptions of "snow events" these days. There was some shovelling this morning, but honestly, it just wasn't that bad. I am glad I have a very short commute.
Two Sundays ago we left worship at First Met United Church in balmy Victoria and walked to the city art gallery. We knew there was an exhibit called On the Edge of Nowhere, about the artwork and life of Emily Carr, who lived in Victoria and roamed Vancouver Island and beyond to Haida Gwaii, the Queen Charlotte Islands. Carr has been a favourite artist for both of us for years and we went to an extensive exhibit of her work at the AGO a couple of years ago.
The Victoria exhibit brought home Carr's deep spiritual connection with nature and her life-long, although uneasy involvement with the church. She was often a reluctant churchgoer, annoyed with the self-righteousness of preachers along the way. Yet when her respected mentor, Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven, tried to persuade her toward theosophy http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theosophy she ultimately resisted.
In the evening that Sunday I attended the Epiphany Explorations dramatic/musical presentation of Carr's life, Exploring the Mystery of Emily Carr, created and enacted by two Victoria musicians and actors, along with the music director from First Met. It was well done, and enhanced by visual images of Carr's works. For me it brought together a love of Christ's community, a love of nature, and a love of artistic expression.
We also sought out the new statue of Carr near the Empress Hotel which depicts her, her monkey named Woo, and dog Billie.
Do you know Carr's work or know much about her? What do you think about the intertwining of art, nature, and the church?
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