MARY AND KRISHNA

MARY AND KRISHNA

Oil on canvas,  36"x48", July, 2012

This continues the themes of  "The Persistence of Worship", "Luminous Femme", and religious mash-up.  Previously I published the digital version of this px, which I used as a study for this painting on canvas.  In the digital version I used a cosmic Hubble image for the background.  When I started painting I blocked in the Hubble image, but as I painted I saw this fiery aura developing.  So, I went with the biker tatoo inspired aura.   As I work, I often see unexpected things happening with the paint.  These surprises are one of the things that keep me making art, year after year.  

So, this fiery aura appeared,  woven by the paintbrush in my hand.  This is no soft ethereal aura, it is a blast of strength.  It is an explosion of fire. This is a visual metaphor for a spiritually strong Goddess.

Paring the Christian Mary with the Hindu baby Krishna continues the religious mash-up vein that I have been mining.  The companion piece, "Yoshoda and Jesus",  indicates that Jesus and Krishna may have been switched at birth.  A harassed nurse switched the little bead name bracelets on the babies.  It seems that someone in the hospital nursery would have noticed that the pink complected baby belonged to the pink complected mother and the blue complected baby belonged to the blue complected mother. Oh well, glitches worse than this have occurred in hospitals.

Anyway, these two paintings are companions.  I am currently painting the Yashoda on canvas.  One might wish that companion paintings look similar.  One can wish all one wants, but the brush has a mind of its own.  The Yoshoda painting is coming out all ethereal, light and airy, it is developing heavenly clouds.  While the Mary px is fiery and earthy.  Maybe that is the point?? Yin and yang, the interweaving of opposites.

I am taking photographs of the Yoshoda as I work.  Will try to document the step by step, creation of the painting.

Keep those cards and letters coming, folks. (Dean Martin).

Yoshada and Jesus

Yashoda and Jesus

 

According to  Hindu myth,  Krishna was born to Devaki. He was conceived without sexual union, by "divine mental transmission" from the mind of  his father Vasudeva and into the womb of Devaki.  The couple's first six children were killed by Devaki's brother King Kansa because prophecy foretold that one of the children would kill him. Before the birth of Krishna,  Kansa locked Devaki and Vasudeva in prison. Krishna was born in prison and secretely taken to foster mother Yashoda for protection. Yashoda is often portrayed as his mother.

Lets look at this.  Krishna was born without sexual union.  A King wanted to kill him.  These are parallels with the story of Jesus.  Even the unusual birth places, a prison and a manger have similarity.  Hinduism is older than Christianity.

Joseph Campbell studied and wrote about comparative mythology.  He found similarities between creation and salvation myths all over the world, in many different cultures with different religions.

Here is what Wikipedia says about Campbell:

As a strong believer in the unity of human consciousness and its poetic expression through mythology, through the monomyth concept, Campbell expressed the idea that the whole of the human race could be seen as reciting a single story of great spiritual importance

 

Its ultimate meaning relates to humanity's search for the same basic, unknown force from which everything came, within which everything currently exists, and into which everything will return and is considered to be "unknowable" because it existed before words and knowledge. 

Myth fulfills basic human needs, the needs based on the human condition of not knowing. In the words of Gauguin, the not knowing, the source of deep insecurity, are derived from these mysterious questions,  "Where do we come from?  What are we?  Where are we going?"

In my recent art work I have been mashing up, mixing up, different religious stories.  I have switched the characters around.  Mary is holding Krishna and Yashoda is holding Jesus. 

Here is Reggae musician Bob Marleys take on this subject:

One Love, One Heart
Let's get together and feel all right
As it was in the beginning (One Love)
So shall it be in the end (One Heart)
Give thanks and praise to the Lord and I will feel all right   

Gauguin's oil painting,  "Where Do We Come From?  What Are We?  Where Are We Going?"

Peace, Love and Art,

 Janet

Babee Hapee

Babee Hapee

Here is a smile for your day.  Put it in your pocket to keep it handy.