Why Have You Forsaken Me? | Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman: Digital painting
read Matthew 27:27-50
from the artist | Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
My study for this piece began with revisiting different images of Christ's crucifixion. One art piece that was particularly intriguing to me was Christ of Saint John of the Cross by Salvador Dalí. It has such a harsh downward angle on the cross; it visually connected me to Christ's mockery in a new way. It pushed me to consider different perspectives from which artists and people of faith have been engaging with this horrifying event.
One visual perspective I couldn't find in my research was one looking directly down on Jesus’ face. At first, I thought this would be the ultimate position of mockery, looking down Jesus' nose. But as I began to sketch Christ from this perspective, my thoughts and feelings about the piece took a hard turn. I was thinking about the text as I was holding my five-month-old little boy. He had a fever and was inconsolable. I felt desperate to offer him comfort and solace; it felt like my heart was breaking open. And then it occurred to me: this perspective I was drawing was not a position of mockery, it was metaphorically the perspective of God the Creator looking at her son who was screaming out in agony. This perspective shift reveals something profound to me about the heart of God, and I connect with it in a new way after becoming a mother.
One of my colleagues, Denise Anderson, reminded me that in Jesus' crying out, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani," he is quoting scripture. So instead of creating a mandala with mockery closing in on Jesus, I imaged the verses of Psalm 22. These images of grief and gratitude ripple out from Jesus' mouth and become a foundation, a grounding in his faith in this moment. In the visual, the moments of lament are faded while the images of praise shimmer a bit more brightly. The psalm gives him the fortitude to rest and offer up his last breath.
reprinted by permission from A Sanctified Art
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