FEBRUARY 2005 - ISSUE 4 - ISSN 1448 - 632

THE RELIGIOUS ART OF FARID DE LA OSSA ARRIETA CMF

The story of the religious art of Farid De La Ossa Arrieta is a story of an artist's relationship with his environment, his inner sense of spirituality, his appreciation of theology, and the ability to translate his thoughts and feelings into creative images. Farid De La Ossa Arrieta is 29 years old and comes from Sincelejo ( Colombia) and for the past four years he has been a member of a Catholic Religious Community called The Claretians.

His affinity with nature and the environment is deeply linked to his childhood where he recalls visiting my grandparents who lived in the countryside of the Atlantic Coast in Colombia There, breathing pure air, he contemplated the magical green landscapes with all its fauna and flora.

Those moments really inspired me to project those landscapes on paper using color pencils. That was the beginning of the exploration of my painting skills. From the beginning I started to paint trees, lakes and any kind of birds in a realistic way, sometimes trying to use the techniques of the great masters - Rubens, Rembrandt and Goya. Painting has connected me with the environment and has made me aware that there has to be a great Creator behind all the wonders of nature. Painting continues to shape a kind of sensitivity in me that tells me day by day that Nature deserves to be honored because it is the masterpiece of a unique Artist.

In completing High School Farid excelled in mathematics, biology and chemistry, and decided to study Chemical Engineering which also allowed him to realise the most important principles that rule chemical processes in general, and more specifically, the link with Environmental Protection. This was an area of study which gave him the opportunity to work with the Colombian Environmental Studies Institute in a project that evaluated the environmental impact of many kinds of industry that existed in Colombia .

Completing his thesis he graduated as a Chemical engineer and began to work with an enterprise, which had to do with Technological Risk Analysis by predicting how hazardous some units of petroleum distillation could be. Test results showed him that people, vegetation and water sources could be affected or even killed by hazardous leaks, explosions, flash fires and fire pools that could occur in this kind of industry.

I wondered whether humans were conscious of all the benefits but also all the damage that was being done to the Environment. After working on these environmental protection enterprises, I realized that that my true vocation, harboured since childhood, was to become a Religious. But I wanted to be a Religious in a way where I could continue working for the protection of the environment. I learned that the Claretians worked in many forms of ministry including those that promoted Justice and Peace issues. After prayer and careful reflection, following the example and recommendation of a Claretian American priest whom I met in Colombia, I determined to join the Claretian Eastern Province of the United States.

Presently Farid De La Ossa Arrieta is completing his second year of Master of Divinity studies at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago.

As a lay person and as a chemical engineer I had learned that contaminating the environment could lead us to the total destruction of our planet. As a Religious, I have started to learn that having commitment to the Earth is a form of being committed to God. In response to economic injustice and environmental damage I have participated in various campaigns to protect the environment hosted by organizations such as Environmental Defense, Union of Concerned Scientists, Defenders of Wildlife, Amnesty International, Oxfam and Bio-gems.

I have also tried to project these concerns and thoughts through my paintings, where I use color pencils, color pastels, black ink and water paint. I try to convey through my art my Christian respect for the Earth and for all life; my art is equally an enjoyable contemplation of the wonders of Nature; my art exposes the inequitable sharing with minority communities that have been too often exposed to disproportionate levels of environmental risk on the basis of race or class. These paintings, a part of my ministerial work, become a challenge to the consciences of those who are exposed to my paintings.

In presenting the art of Farid De La Ossa Arrieta below, at times he will refer to works of spirituality and theology that have inspired him with the thematic representation of the created art work.

THE RELIGIOUS ART OF FARID DE LA OSSA ARRIETA CMF

God, the Mother

“God, the Mother” was painted in 2002 and was inspired by Elizabeth Johnson's book “She who is.”

The painting is made with color pencils, color pastels and black ink using the mandala format (the central circle) and it contains a woman in the middle as a representation of the feminine image of God. She envelops an image of Christ (the cross) and of the Holy Spirit (the dove) and of the mystery of the Trinity (the triangle). The yellow light is presented as a symbol of God’s light, which, on the left-hand, side illuminates animal species that are in danger of extinction; on the right-hand side, humanity that is in danger or in trouble is shown. The blue light, which surrounds the large circle is a symbol of that peace that only God’s presence can bring.

 

Universe in the Hands of God

This painting was inspired by Mark Wallace’s article “The Wounded Spirit as the Basis for Hope in an Age of Radical Ecology”, and by John Chryssavgis’ article “The World and Creation: An Orthodox Perspective on Ecology and Pneumatology”  which appear in a book titled “Christianity and Ecology” edited by Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether.

I have tried to capture the essence of the text which symbolically sees the Earth is the Body of the Spirit. For this reason, in our age the color GREEN is perhaps most fittingly the representative color of the Holy Spirit. Here, I used the Mandala format (a circle) to contain all the universe and I placed a depiction of a feminine and a masculine hand holding this circle signifying how God is intimately connected with the Universe. Outside this scene I placed a green color to signify the transcendence of the Holy Spirit in Nature.

 

Pentecost Over Nature

This painting was created following the 2004 Pentecost celebration in Chicago. The dove form in the middle of this painting contains 24 candles which represent the 12 tribes of Israel (Old Testament) and the 12 apostles (New Testament).

I wanted to combine this figure with an understanding of the Eucharist from a Liberation Theology perspective which would express the solidarity with the oppressed (the poor and the Earth). This is a theme that strongly comes through such books as: “What are they saying about Environmental Ethics?” by Pamela Smith and in articles like “The Bread of the Eucharistic Celebration as a Sign of Justice in the Community” by Enrique Dussel.

The poor are represented in the human figures that appear on the right-hand side of the dove and the Earth is represented by the animals and trees that appear on the left-hand side of the dove All of these are contained in a host sustained by a priest in the middle of a blue and yellow background which signifies God’s presence in Nature.

 

Jesus Redeeming Nature

This painting represents Christ redeeming all Creation (a theme that emerges in Sallie McFague's article: “An Ecological Christology: Does Christianity have it?” which is contained in: “Christianity and Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth and Humans” edited by Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether)

The large circle in the middle presents Nature balancing the two forces that Chinese cosmology proposes: yin (the dark part of the circle) and the yang (the lighter part of the circle). My inspiration came from reflecting on the article by Peter K. H. Lee: “A Christian-Chinese Version of Ecotheology: Goodness, Beauty, and Holiness in Creation” in the text mentioned above. The hand is a representation of a creative and creating God who is always behind everything that happens within Creation The yellow color surrounding these figures represents the light of the Holy Spirit irradiating from the salvific and redemptive work of Jesus the Christ.

 

Nature and the Eucharist

Eucharist is presented centrally in this painting in the form of a chalice and the host mediating between nature (landscape) and the poor depicted by the people on the right side of the painting. The Eucharist as a representation of total solidarity with the poor is a common theological theme, but well expressed by Enrique Dussel in his article “The Bread of the Eucharistic Celebration as a Sign of Justice in the Community” and ffirmed by Pamela Smith in her book “What are they saying about Environmental Ethics?” Liberation Ecotheology should reflect the Gospel's concern for the entrenched poor who too often find themselves powerless in a world where their natural environment is pillaged and destroyed. The painting sees the Eucharistic symbols as restoring hope, reason and meaning in a conflicting world.

 

Spirit of Creation

This painting was inspired by Mark Wallace’s article “The Wounded Spirit as the Basis for Hope in an Age of Radical Ecology”, and by John Chryssavgis’ article “The World and Creation: An Orthodox Perspective on Ecology and Pneumatology”  which appear in the book titled “Christianity and Ecology” edited by Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Equally, Stephen Bevans' article entitled "God inside out: A Missionary Theology of the Spirit" inspired me to place the Holy Spirit's creative and life-giving, prophesying and renewing, empowering, uniting and freeing activity centrally in the artwork. Here, the outline of a dove has in its middle the face of a woman (representing the female character of the Earth). The inner circle also contains depictions of several different depictions from nature (animals, air, water, plants). The feminine element representing the Earth was inspired by the part on the “Ethics of Ecofeminism” which appears in the book “What are they saying about Environmental Ethics?” written by Pamela Smith.

 

Nature rescued by Creation

Humanity is presented in this painting as a child holding a circle that represents Nature itself. But there is no innocence within this child which in this depiction represents an unthoughtful humanity "behaving like children" contaminating the Earth without taking in consideration the lasting damage that can be caused by wilful destruction and environmental pollution.

But, there is hope. The represented dove symbolises God trying to save Nature and the Earth from the hands of capricious humans Again this is a theme that emerges in Mark Wallace’s article “The Wounded Spirit as the Basis for Hope in an Age of Radical Ecology” in the book titled “Christianity and Ecology” edited by Dieter T. Hessel and Rosemary Radford Ruether. Again here, I have used YELLOW to represent God’s light in contrast with the darkness that contamination invades to the Earth.

 

Eucharistic Justice

Another Eucharistic painting based on Don E. Saliers book called Worship and Spirituality which contains the following statement: "The celebration of the Eucharist requires the gathered community about the table with the bread and wine with the recital of the whole history of God with us , and with the full, active, and faithful doing of this commemoration."

The Eucharist, represented by the Host held by the male and female hands that appears in the middle, is a way of solidarity with the poor. Justice that they seek is represented by the scales that appear within the host. The painting depicts a way of action to achieve justice for the oppressed and those wronged in the past (right-hand side) This is represented by the people wearing garments from the Earliest Christianity gathering for worship within the catacombs. . The present and future generations (wearing contemporary clothes) are represented on the left side of the picture while the whole artwork ,made with color pencils, color pastels, water paint and black ink, is represented by the Mandala of hope which the Eucharist , daily prayer, the cycles of time (represented by the plants and the sky), and the range of Sacramental Life can bring.

All these elements are gathered in the central circle, which is illuminated by the light (yellow color) in spite of darkness and opposition (black color) that confronts the whole Earth (brown color).

 

Revelation

God may be seen behind simplicity and innocence. I would like to relate an experience that was a motivating event for this art-piece: At the beginning of my ministry I was coming back to where my community house by bus. I took a seat opposite an African-American woman with her 6-year old daughter. During the trip, I noticed that the little girl made the sign of the cross, put her hands together and started to pray with her eyes closed. She seemed to concentrate on prayer and did not seem to care what people in the bus were going to think. Indeed, the bus was full but I could also see that nobody noticed the praying child. However, it was a very touching moment for me and the event was so meaningful to me that I decided to do this painting.

The large circle encloses a child who is depicted in a kind of cave and who is enthralled and surprised by seeing the effect of light and drops of water coming down from above. This painting depicts our reaction to God's revelation through Nature. The center scene is surrounded by autumn leaves which represents the beauty and the mystery of the changing seasonsl.

Stephen Bevans in his articles and lectures affirms this communication of God's subjectivity by means of nature's objectivity. This echoes Hans Urs Van Balthasar who in his text The Glory of the Lord: A theological Aesthetics says that: "if God first revealed God's self as Creator and of Creation is indeed the manifestation of God, it follows that this manifestation takes its form from the world itself." Through the changes of the leaves in autumn God is shown as a most exquisite 'decorating' artist!

 

Jesus Christ: the Word of God

The inspiration for this piece was a presentation entitled Lectio Divina at Catholic Theological Union here in Chicago where I attended a course called Liturgy, Prayer and Contemplation. The theme of the presentation was that Jesus Christ, as the Word of God, was the "realization" of all the Words of the world that came together in the praise of Jesus Christ. Louis Bouyer in his book The Eternal Son said that: "The Word of God takes in the whole of the life of the People of God, the whole of its institutions together with the complex history that bright them into being It expresses a supernatural discernment of the experience they had of a providential sign in their regard, a creative and saving sign that was being accomplished throughout history."

The Word of God efficaciously affects not only believing Christians but People of good will who in their own ways and experiences encounter the divine. Karl Barth in his book Church and Dogmatics said that: "Theology should use or appropriate as many worldviews and forms of language as are necessary to explicate the truth of God's Word." C. S. Lewis in his book God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics acknowledges that Christ is true myth because the Word became flesh in the man Jesus.

I wanted to create a painting that showed Jesus Christ as the Word of God giving light to all the peoples from all the religions and cultures of the world. The central mandala is made with color pencils, black, green, blue and red ink, color pastels and color pencils. In the middle circle there is the outline of the resurrected Christ, who is filled with words that mean "Jesus, Life, Word, God and Love" in languages like Spanish, German, Ukrainian, English, French, Italian, Latin, Vietnamese, Chinese and Hebrew. Around this outline there are some other words that also mean "Jesus, Life, Word, God and Love" in different colors and that are growing in size while getting closer to the outline of Jesus.

Outside of the circle I painted some representations of symbols from different cultures around the world, such as: Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome , the Taj Mahal in India , and the Black Stone in Mecca - Arabia. Yellow rays coming out from the inner circle represent Jesus as the Word of God gives light and energy to all the cultures of the world. The painting depicts a transcending Christ who empowers all religion, languages or cultures of the world in order to reach humanity.

 

Jesus Christ: the Redeemer of Creation

This is my first creative painting for 2005. It was inspired by my experience of Lent in conjunction with the insight of various readings which include:

an article by Anthony Kelly CSsR entitled Eucharistic Ecology which contains the following: "By receiving the eucharistic gift of his body and blood, we are in fact claiming this world as our own in the way that Christ has done."

an article by Kevin W. Irwin called The Sacramentality of Creation and the Role of Creation in Liturgy and Sacraments whichpresents a harmony between creation theology and the paschal mystery.

a section of a book by David Toolan called At Home in the Cosmos where he gives this reflection on the cross: "The cross declares the era of scapegoat and bloody sacrifice to have come to an end -to be replaced by grace abounding, and unbloody sacrificial love and kinship, a communion that knows no ethnic, national, gender, or racial boundary. That knows no sharp boundary between the human and the material universe."

My painting brings all of these thoughts together in a creative form: Jesus is on the Cross but will resurrect through the power of God's light. Jesus' body is presented as a compound of triangles (symbols of the Trinity). The Cross is connected to the Earth, the Universe and to Nature itself, showing the inter-connection that there is between the cross and all Creation. These elements are included in the main circle of this mandala held by a hand of a person which symbolizing the Eucharist which is given to the people. The host is eradiating grace (represented as light rays) to all Creation - a symbol of God's presence in the Eucharistic Consecration.

 

Farid De La Ossa Arrieta CMF is 29 years old and comes from Sincelejo ( Colombia ) and for the past four years has been a member of a Catholic Religious Community called The Claretians .

Email: fariddelaossa@yahoo.com

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