A revelation of faith
An exhibit at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore fascinates me.
It's a collection of pieces that reveal what belief can mean for each of us, and it's stunning how the artists on display captured everything from prayer (in paint) to the Great Mother to the Ten Commandments.
This show has everything from painting to sculpture to fiber applique. It took my husband and I three hours to tour it on a recent Saturday, but I could have spent twice as much time there.
My favorite pieces were simple, 6x4 postcard renderings.
You might be familiar with PostSecret, a project by Frank Warren, who in 2004 started collecting people's anonymous secrets by postcard. He's published several books of "PostSecrets."
The cards on display at AVAM each relate somehow to faith. Here's a sampling:
-- "This is my favorite time of year ... And I'm an Orthodox Jew." (on a picture of the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree)
-- "I am a Southern Baptist pastor's wife. No one knows that I do not believe in God."
-- "I'm so mad at God for letting me be gay and not letting me be a happy, normal Mormon boy ..."
-- "I hate it when people say prayer works because it didn't when I was begging God to save my baby's life."
-- "I am an editor for a large, online atheist newsletter ... and I believe in God!"
The entire exhibit (with the ridiculously long title of "All Faiths Beautiful: From Atheism to Zoroastrianism, Respect for Diversity of Belief") ends Aug. 31, so don't waste time getting there.
