Almost everybody can look at this picture and tell what bible story it tells. Yep, it's Jonah and the whale, in a very unique rendering. I had to laugh when I saw it. Those certainly aren't Old Testament sailors, that's for sure. And look at poor Jonah, waiting to be tossed (or rolled) overboard. And in the dark blue surrounding the boat and sailors is the representation of God. The artist, He Qi, is a Chinese artist and his renderings of Bible stories is absolutely delicious. I know, that's a strange word to use, but I like to use it when I have a visceral reaction to something that is way more than just being intellectually interested.
If you do a Google Image Search on He Qi, you will find lots of his art work. A better place to go is to Christianity Today's blog - http://blog.christianitytoday.com/images/about_imago_fidei/ - where if you snoop around you can find a slide show of He's work and an explanation of the symbolism in each painting. It's awfully interesting. His own story of how he became both an artist and a Christian is equally interesting.
Way too many times in my own travels through Christian circles I came up against a real wall of negativity toward anything artistic that was "out of the mainstream." Artistic interpretations were almost considered blasphemous; only traditional images were considered acceptable. To be honest with you, I found this same attitude coming from the pulpit too, especially back in the '60s and '70s and in the churches that were very threatened by both the charismatic revival and the hippie movement.
I have been out of religious circles a long time and am truly behind the times in seeing the changes in evangelical churches. So for me to discover the old mainstream magazine "Christianity Today" online and see how it has changed over the years, and in this case especially in showcasing He Qi's amazing artwork, just does my heart good.
No, I'm not moving back into the church. But as those of you who follow this blog know I still am very interested in things religious. Learning about and seeing He Qi's work this morning has certainly set a nice tone for the rest of my day!
