The images in these prints are based on my reading of Butler's Lives of the Saints (1981 edition). The four volume set contains about 2700 biographical entries of varying length and detail. I have chosen about 80 to interpret so far, 14 of which are included in this show. Some are fairly literal interpretations (although often updated to more contemporary imagery), others use metaphors, and a few make somewhat creative use of the original text. I chose objects and situations that could have something in common with the average person today. I wouldn't expect that everyone could relate to every print, but I would think that everyone could relate to some of them. If there is an aspect of the everyman in each saint, then perhaps there is an aspect or potential of the saint (religious or secular) in every one of us.
2 comments:
Hello mr. Bonelli, I go to Upper Iowa and im currently taking an art class for the first time ever, but do to my studies in sociology interpertation of varying subjects comes daily, I didn't really see the correlation between saint's an your depictions until I read your paragraph on here, an I beleave your dead on, I believe there is saint and sinner in each and every person minus God himself , so therefore no one is perfect!! But that 15% of saint needs to be worked out to the uttermost to at least say we try ..Good Stuff keep it up
Glad you enjoyed the show. I didn't know what was going to come out of it when I started reading the saint biographies, but what I found most interesting was the little things in their lives, the things that anyone could relate to. So rather than illustrate the stories of the saints, I show the things that we know and are familiar with, so the viewer feels a connection to the saint even before they learn the story behind the image.
I hope you're having fun with your art class. Keep it up and someday you can try your own interpretation of the saints, or anything else that interests you.
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