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| Nativity by Brian Kershinick |
I am not an art enthusiast but one artist has caught my attention and that is Brian Kershinick.
I initially liked him because many of his pieces depict motherhood. They also capture glimpses of life and what those glimpses of life would look like if the veil were thin and if we could see the angels surrounding us in moments of decision, confusion or heartache. He has an extraordinary talent.
Here are a few pieces.
While at the BYU Art Museum a large wall size painting of this Nativity caught my eye. It was beautiful. I have never seen such a raw depiction of the Nativity like this before.
Often when we see Christ's birth it is highly romanticized. The human element is completely taken out of it.
This painting is different.
It is raw.
In this picture Mary looks like she has just given birth like a mortal woman would have. She is pale, tired and messy. The mid wives have bloodied soiled rags from the birth in a bucket of water. Joseph, as a new father is overwhelmed with the new task that lays before him and his hand is on Mary's shoulder. She holds his fingers in hers comforting him while adoring her new son.
The Christ child is nursing. Which I think may be something that might offend some but in my opinion it is simply one of the most natural things known to humanity. Only in our westernized culture are we so far removed and detached from this natural link between mother and baby. Also it is incredibly symbolic that God the Father would entrust his son, the actual Creator of the earth, to the hands of a mortal woman. And this mortal woman, in this painting, is giving this child sustenance. To me that tells me alot about what God thinks about women. The love of a Mother in the scriptures is often compared to the love of God or charity.
Joseph and Mary and the midwives seem unaware of the concourses of angels who are cramming to see the Great I AM being born as a mortal. This is the beginning of the life of their Redeemer. Some these angels are crying, some are reaching out. All of it comes from the artists perspective but I like what he has done.
Instead of describing himself as an artist Kershisnik describes himself as having a sort of "leak". He describes it as a seam which was left open between him and heaven.
