'Behold the Man'
©2005 Carol J. Phipps
"Behold the Man," is a collage of candid pictures of humanity and
creatures of the earth and sea variously gathered around the crucified
Jesus of Nazareth. Using a more traditional technique for collage-making in this
work, I gathered pictures largely from National Geographic magazines and
joined them together rather than creating my own images. This art work visualizes
the biblical message found in Colossians regarding Christ Jesus coming
into the world to reconcile creation to God.
"Absolutely everything above and below, visible and invisible, . . got
started in [Christ] and finds its purpose in [Christ]. He was there before
any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment
. . . From beginning to end [Christ is] there, towering far above everything,
everyone. So spacious is He, so roomy, that everything of God finds its proper
place in Him without crowding. . . all the broken and dislocated pieces of
the universe--people and things, animals, and atoms--get properly fixed and
fit together in vibrant harmonies, all because of His death, His blood that
poured down from the Cross . . . by giving Himself completely at the Cross
. . . Christ brought you over to God's side . . . I [Paul] want you woven into
a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then
you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery."
Col.
1:13-22; 2:2
The latter words from the Message translation were inspiration for the, "Behold
the Man," collage. The piece was begun during a Christian Grandparent
camp while teaching the traditional method of collage-making.