Brehm Center

April Alkema

Christ Within, 2009

Plaster, Oil, and Acrylic on Canvas

Approx. h. 30 in w. 40 in

April Alkema’s oil and plaster painting is her response to Giotto’s frescoes depicting the life of St. Francis of Assisi. In it, she wanted to reflect some of the themes of St. Francis’ conversion as well as Giotto’s painting styles and techniques. Alkema began by making technical choices, such as choosing a canvas relative shape of Giotto’s frescoes. She also used similar materials like “messy plaster” that was used in the making of the frescoes. “I also decided to use a brilliant, ethereal blue in most of the frescoe’s space because of how beautiful its effect was in Basilica (San Francesco).” The effect on the blue is different on her canvas however - “in Giotto’s paintings it has the effect of making the space seem more like windows into real life, in my painting I wanted it to have the effect of making the figure look like she was in an ethereal space.”

Alkema’s subject matter for the painting was inspired by her reading of the book When the Heart Waits by Sue Monk Kidd. In the book, the author describes how the metaphor of pregnancy, the Virgin Mary’s pregnancy specifically, became an important symbol for her of growing Christ within. “This is a beautiful metaphor for the wait and time that occurs as we travel on our spiritual journeys. It is my own representation of the way I see St. Francis’ period of ‘gestation,’ so to speak.” Additionally, Sue Monk Kidd relies on the metaphor of pregnancy to say that as Christians, we are all in the womb of God. “I love the circularity of the metaphor, in which we grow Christ within us, and Christ grows us within Him.” For Alkema, painting a woman is always preferable as it is “my way of putting myself into the painting.”

After returning home from Orvieto, Italy, Alkema felt it necessary to push herself to paint. Though creating this piece was part of an assigned response to her time in Orvieto, she appreciated the opportunity to do so through art. “In Orvieto, we learned about and saw the work of so many people, artists, mystics, theologians, many of who had stories that were not inspiring, but rather convicting. The most important decision I can make is to use the gifts I have been given.”

Olga Lah

Much Further to Go, 2009

Charcoal on vellum

Approx. h. 108 in w. 46 in d. 32 in

Olga Lah’s installation currently hanging in the Brehm Center office is a response to Luca Signorelli’s frescoes in the San Brizio Chapel of the Orvieto Cathedral in Italy. Lah cites Stanley’s Meltzoff’s description of the murals as representing visually theologica poetica as inspiration for her work. “Theologia poetica is a phrase that represents the idea that God can be revealed outside of Scriptures in ancient poetry and philosophy…that humanity shares in God’s divinity—whatever humans make or do is sacred though, secular.” Lah was interested in studying how Signorelli expressed theologia poetica in his paintings and how her research could be translated in a contemporary visual format. It was also an opportunity to explore how the creation of art can be “connected to worshipping and understanding the divine.” Her hope is that the piece “points back to the reality that God meets us through visual means, whether that is by an intellectual understanding of a work of art, or through a sensory experience.” Lah found the process of creating the installation to be very meditative. “On one hand, it was at times a struggle, but the experience of creating this piece was revealing in how it opened and moved me and allowed feelings of healing. In the end, the piece revealed God in very personal ways to me.”

Lah’s installation is comprised of charcoal sketches on dozens of vellum sheets that are strung together and hang down from the ceiling. The sheets descend to the ground in organically fashioned helices. The sketches are based on the images from Signorelli’s frescoes, yet the three-dimensional installation re-interprets how the images are viewed. The piece projects into the viewer’s space and compels interaction. “It’s a work meant to be walked around, where one bends down or stands a little taller to get a better look. It’s meant to be seen close up and farther away.” Furthermore, by using semi-transparent vellum sheets as her canvases, Lah’s work allows for the diffusion of and play with light. The allusion of movement, the play with light, and the images in charcoal combine to evoke strong emotions. “My hope is that the layers of experience and ideas would continue to unfold as viewers come to see the work.”

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