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  Nayla Jimenez (left) and Alexis Moreno transferred to St. Bede the Venerable School three years ago. Alexis: “I thought it was going to be hard, but it was easy because everyone was so nice.” Catholic New World photos/Sandy Bertog A regular feature of The Catholic New World, The InterVIEW is an in-depth conversation with a person whose words, actions or ideas affect today’s Catholic. It may be affirming of faith or confrontational. But it will always be stimulating. . |
Artist finds inspiration in spiritual subjects
Spirituality has always suffused the work of Janet McKenzie, the Vermont-based artist whose “Jesus of the People” won the National Catholic Reporter’s “Jesus 2000” contest. When the divorced mother of one son painted that portrait, she had no idea of the response—both positive and negative—she would receive. That experience has led to a new group of paintings, which McKenzie, 56, will bring to the Courtyard Gallery of Catholic Theological Union, 5401 S. Cornell Ave.. The exhibit “Reflections on the Journey: Celebrating African American Women,” opens with a reception 4 p.m. Feb. 27. It is one of several events that celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Tolton Pastoral Ministry program for black Catholics at CTU. She corresponded by e-mail with staff writer Michelle Martin as she prepared for the exhibit.
Janet McKenzie: I have always painted, even as a little child, so I don’t know at what specific point I became an artist. My life is about creating and making art and I would say my life is a visual search for meaning and relevance. I grew up in and around New York City and studied painting on several different scholarships at the Art Students League of New York. I lost my mother, grandmother and father in 1972 when I was 23 and this greatly impacted my life. I often feel, as an artist, my interest in the human form (especially the female form) has to do with not only giving me a voice but also those who cannot speak for themselves, for many reasons. JM: Spirituality and a search for meaning has infused my work all along but only since the mid-’90s has it become my passion and a driving force. I find the Blessed Mother and Child, in particular, an inspiring subject that I never tire of because for me, they symbolize the journey of motherhood in the sweetest and most pure way. My painting, “Madonna and Child—Boundless Love” was acquired by Cardinal George after Sister Anita Baird, DHM (Director of the Office for Racial Justice) saw it featured in “Christianity and the Arts” magazine. The painting hangs at the pastoral center and it means a great deal to me. “Mother of Contemplation” is another work of mine in Chicago. It was done for the McDonough Chapel and Mercy Ministry Center at Saint Xavier University. A work close to my heart and included in this new exhibit is “Mary, a Mother’s Sorrow,” which feels like an appropriate painting to share this time of year. My hope in doing this work was to show profound sorrow through Mary’s face, a mother’s face. Her eyes are closed and she simply stands, hand over her heart. The cross is the reality of the crucifixion yet there are also lilies—representative of everlasting life. Dr. Janet Moses is the subject of “Reflections on the Journey.” Janet is a retired pediatrician, mother of four children (all raised in Africa) and wife of Robert Moses, ’60s freedom fighter for voter registration, subject of Mississippi Burning and founder of The Algebra Project. The moment I saw Janet I knew I wanted to include her in this body of work. She has great presence, a timelessly beautiful face and was the perfect inspiration for this quiet and reflective work. JM: Former (National Catholic Reporter) editor Michael Farrell’s words inspired me to create an image of Jesus. He asked if people were thinking of Jesus as the millennium approached, and if they were, what would he look like to them? I heard about the competition extremely late, as slides were due in only three weeks by that time. JM: I had been working with a young woman of color, Maria Hill Barnes, as a model for a number of paintings. I didn’t set out to create controversy by using a woman: she simply seemed the perfect subject as she embodies what I think Jesus would want for us—kindness to others, appreciation for her life and an inherent quality of grace that reflects a gentle and loving heart. I felt by using Maria as the inspiration (and I say inspiration rather than subject because she did not pose for me; rather I did her from memory, which allowed me to take the work in different directions and toward the masculine) I would be able to make this a truly inclusive interpretation. My nephew, Elliott McKenzie, a young man of color, was 15 years old at the time and going through adolescent issues of identity. I thought this image of Jesus might speak positively to him, reflecting back his own beautiful dark face—and he did indeed love it. I am often asked where my favorite exhibition of the painting has been and I always say, my nephew’s locker at school because it was happily filled with magnets and cards of “Jesus of the People”. Elliott is now 20 years old and a Marine about to leave for Iraq. JM: Yes, I was surprised by the reaction to “Jesus of the People” as the initial response was so negative. I received e-mails telling me that if I painted Mohammed the same thing that happened to Salman Rushdie would happen to me and others telling me I ought to read the Bible. A hate group from Kansas threatened to picket in front of my studio (in Vermont) and the painting was called blasphemous time and time again. My mail was even separated at the post office for fear of a letter bomb. Yet on the heels of the first wave of reaction came an enormously heartfelt (and worldwide) outpouring of support and gratitude for this particular image of Jesus. People tell me, and have all along, that “Jesus of the People” looks like someone they know. This has proven to be a unifying common thread regarding this painting—people see past the surface image into the heart of the work and find in it something that touches them personally. I find this both humbling and inspiring. You asked me whether it was the racial or gender component that surprised people most. I think ultimately it was the gender component—that of including the feminine aspect in an image of Jesus— that agitated people most. Vermont Public Radio commentator, Lois Eby, in her commentary “Janet McKenzie Art Exhibit” (which aired Aug. 21, 2002), said “While many people responded to this portrayal of Jesus with gratitude for its inclusiveness, some were angry that this Jesus was not more traditionally white, male and beatific.” She went on to say, “What strikes me about McKenzie’s portrait of Jesus is the arresting and contemporary gaze of the model. While you are looking at the portrait, McKenzie’s Jesus is looking with penetrating intensity at you. The gaze conveys the suffering and compassion of a very real human being, one who understands complexity of feeling and whose spiritual power is born of sad experience. The somber yet appealing figure invites contemplation on the possibilities for religion and religious icons in our time of cultural and religious conflict and dialogue.” JM: I toured “Jesus of the People” across the country for three years (2000 – 2003) bringing the work where it was invited. This gave me the opportunity to personally meet people who were in opposition to it as well as those who loved it. Dialogue and discussion occurred whenever it was on view. “Jesus of the People” was on exhibit on Sept. 11, 2001 in Santa Fe, N.M., at Good Hands Gallery. The owners of the gallery asked to extend its stay in case anyone might want to simply be around it during that time. People did come and the gallery took on the feel of a chapel. I will never forget people looking up at the painting, many of them crying. I was invited to exhibit “Jesus of the People” at the National Black Catholic Congress IX at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago in September of 2002. During the Congress women often enthusiastically asked me if I planned on doing more work of women of color, an idea I already had in my mind. I made the decision then and there to create a new body of work—“African American Women Celebrated.” John and Marilyn Breyo, long time collectors of my work, felt strongly that this particular body of paintings should come into existence and generously underwrote it. The first exhibition of this work took place at Wisdom House Retreat and Conference Center in Litchfield, Conn., in the spring of 2004. ‘Journey, Memory and Reverence: African American Women Celebrated” was created to pay homage to women of color. For me these paintings speak of motherhood, which is a journey of sacrifice and love beyond reason. They celebrate women alone as iconic and inspirational individuals including the sacred, children (hope for the future) and with gifts of knowledge gleaned over a lifetime, the elderly. It is my hope viewers will not only be reminded of the majesty, suffering, courage, presence, strength and beauty of women of color but also find themselves, and the inherent human and spiritual qualities that we all share, within this work. |
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