Bill Viola: The Road to St Paul's
Date & Time: 19:30-21:30, 26 April 2018
Venue: Starr Cinema, Bankside
London SE1 9TG
The person who one loves most has died! No one can imagine the grief that could be more vast and powerful than what the universe emanates, especially if the person who dies is a great man.
Some while ago, I met a guy. We went to a gallery together. He told me he preferred mythological paintings and had no feeling for religious paintings. We talked about Jesus and his life.
Different from him, I always find the Bible stories fascinating. They are not just simple religious implications. Instead, they are about great human stories. Jesus is the figure symbolising every great man who is so above-ordinary and so intelligent has been misunderstood, punished, betrayed, or suffered greatly. His suffering and his inevitable death has led to his mother's indescribable pain and everlasting melancholy.
Michelangelo's 1498-99 Pietà
These greatest religious works of art are much closer to human life than you anticipate. Here, I would like to mention Michelangelo's 1498-99 Pietà. This particular piece has offered me an emotional, spiritual comfort, beyond any description, when I have gone through a heavy grief for my darling husband who died last year. In this sculpture, Mary, Jesus's mother, looks so young. You may think she is weak. But No! Look at her! Her body is strong and her legs are wide-open. She holds her dead son's heavy body with her right hand and support it with very muscular legs. Of course, these features are metaphorical. Her skirt carries out the best sculptural drapery, seemingly narrating the most difficult emotions that human beings could experience. I shall say that this image has brought me the greatest emotional impact than any other works of art!
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