The seventh annual College Student Competition
and Exhibit of Spiritual Art was held from May 2-15, 1998, at the Fassbender
Annex Gallery in Chicago. Twenty-nine artists from around the country and
Europe along with their thirty-two artworks were selected by the jurors
and exhibited at the event.
The awards program, introduced by Mistress of
Ceremonies Rosemary Pietrzak, was enhanced by the flute and guitar music
of Judith Johnson Brown and Steven Vasquez. Vincent Zarlenga, O.P.
, Director, spoke on the Foundation in the New Millennium, and John Render,
C.P., on The Hunger for Spiritual Art Today. The Patron of the Arts,
1998, award was presented to John Render, C.P. Director of the Passionist
Research Center.
Monetary prizes were awarded to:
Jason Hiles, Milwaukee Institute
of Art & Design, $1,500.00,
bronze “Jeremiah’s
Call”
Cheng Shih Wu, Fontbonne College,
Missouri, $1,000.00
oil “Temptation
of Adam”
Sasha Williams, Moscow University,
Russia, $500.00,
oil, “Mother”
Honorary Awards were given to:
Maria Costa, College of Charleston,
South Carolina
Magdalena Malachowska, Dominican
University, River Forest, IL
Gary Jacobson, Indiana State University
For the Fra
Angelico Art Foundation Scholarship, 1998,
the winner was Shauna Angel Blue of Columbia College, Chicago, IL
This unique event was highly praised by the attending
dignitaries, the patrons, the friends of the Foundation, the students,
as well as the participating artists. The variety of media used,
the subject matter, and the high quality of the artwork were all the ingredients
necessary in creating a very impressive art exhibit.
1st Place
Winner - 1998
Jeremiah's Call by artist Jason
Hiles
Left to right: Father Vincent
Zarlenga - Director of the Foundation, Jason Hiles - Artist
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"Jeremiah’s Call is based on
the prophet Jeremiah’s call by God into ministry is recorded in the book
that bears his name:
“The word of the Lord came to me
saying, ‘before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born
I set you apart; I appointed you a prophet to the nations,” (Jeremiah 1:4-5
NIV).
This sculpture represents Jeremiah’s response to
that call – his initial fear and his eventual dependence on the Lord as
his “strength, fortress and refuge in time of distress,” (Jeremiah 16:19).
I created this piece while contemplating the difficulties of openly producing
Christian art in a secular environment.
The prophet’s body is frail and elongated as if
he is stretching toward this source of strength. His feet speak of
the weight of the cross he is to bear throughout the remainder of his life.
The hands demonstrate both his fear and apprehension (left hand) and the
reception of God’s grace and strength (right hand). Jeremiah stands
as a “bronze wall” (Jeremiah 1:18) against those who would resist God’s
truth." - Jason Hiles |
2nd Place
Winner - 1998
Temptation of Adam by artist
Cheng Shih Wu
Left to right: Dr. Gregory
Bertagna - Chairman of the Board, Cheng Shih Wu - Artist,
LaVerne Edbrooke - Associate
Director, Grace - friend of the artist
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| In this work, I have combined realism
with abstraction to express my ideas. The figure associated with mankind
and the snake indicating evil.
I have tried to create a composition which is
unified and clearly shows man's weakness to sin.
I was trying to express Adam's struggle with his
own realization of sin.
The twist of his body represents the temptation
of the snake and his mind's struggle with good over evil.
His left hand holding an apple from which a bite
has been taken represents sin. Trying to arouse people's curiosity,
I used grid work to show the imprisonment of Eve paying for her sin. |
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3rd Place
Winner - 1998
Mother by artist Sasha Williams
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Click
here to view the
Eighth Annual College Student
Art Competition, 1999.
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“Although most of my paintings are representational
and at time realistic with great amount of fine details, visual aesthetics
is not the only aspect of my work. Conceptually each of my paintings
tell a story that is completely up to a viewer to interpret based on his
or her personal experiences and beliefs. For myself through my art
I explore the ethereal relationship between the physical world and the
spiritual one.
When I was working on “Mother” it was not a specific
event or a verse from the Bible that kept me inspired but the whole effigy
of the Mother of God, the strong and yet fragile woman whose suffering
and glory have inspired people for ages. It is up to a viewer to
look at “Mother” and to see either a tired old woman who has lost her most
precious child in unhuman way, or powerful and glorious Theotokos whose
faith and love have given strength to a great number of people. My
attempt was to inspire viewers to think past the stereotype and to encourage
them to explore what does “Mother” mean for them personally.” - Sasha Williams |
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