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A review by underwaterlily
The Art of Lent: A Painting a Day from Ash Wednesday to Easter by Sister Wendy Beckett
5.0
I wish I’d kept a journal as I read The Art of Lent! I enjoy thinking about how art speaks to us on a spiritual level. I’m not a Christian, but some things are universal.
I left author Sylvain Reynard a comment on one of his blog posts about the book:
Rebecca Salter’s painting, “J1 1994” (and Yuko Shiraishi’s “Three Greys”), speaks to me in unexpected ways. I love everything Sister Wendy says about the painting, about how Salter “seems to have painted silence itself.” I can hear and feel the silence when I look at the painting; it transports me through time, back to the 90s, before I had internet, when I’d turn on the TV late at night and see and hear static noise. I had so much hope then. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be awake, but it was nice to be alone in my quiet bedroom—the static noise a comforting soundtrack to my thoughts and plans.
I love what Sister Wendy says about “The Silence” by Carel Weight: “To isolate oneself is not to be at peace.” As an adult, I’m alone with my thoughts a little too much, as I fear we all are. The world is more connected than ever, yet we’re all so disconnected. I’d love to be the woman in Hammershoi’s “Interior”: seated alone, in a room, before several open doors and a brightly-lit window. She has options; I feel she isn’t alone too much.
*
I’m thinking about reading Sister Wendy’s The Art of Christmas this December. I have Jane Williams’s book, but I have a feeling I’ll miss Sister Wendy’s commentary. (Of course, I could always read both!)
I left author Sylvain Reynard a comment on one of his blog posts about the book:
Rebecca Salter’s painting, “J1 1994” (and Yuko Shiraishi’s “Three Greys”), speaks to me in unexpected ways. I love everything Sister Wendy says about the painting, about how Salter “seems to have painted silence itself.” I can hear and feel the silence when I look at the painting; it transports me through time, back to the 90s, before I had internet, when I’d turn on the TV late at night and see and hear static noise. I had so much hope then. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be awake, but it was nice to be alone in my quiet bedroom—the static noise a comforting soundtrack to my thoughts and plans.
I love what Sister Wendy says about “The Silence” by Carel Weight: “To isolate oneself is not to be at peace.” As an adult, I’m alone with my thoughts a little too much, as I fear we all are. The world is more connected than ever, yet we’re all so disconnected. I’d love to be the woman in Hammershoi’s “Interior”: seated alone, in a room, before several open doors and a brightly-lit window. She has options; I feel she isn’t alone too much.
*
I’m thinking about reading Sister Wendy’s The Art of Christmas this December. I have Jane Williams’s book, but I have a feeling I’ll miss Sister Wendy’s commentary. (Of course, I could always read both!)