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‘CRUCIFIXION’
By LINDA M. LINONIS
youngstown
Ray Simon’s “The Crucifixion” painting will command your attention.
It may seem disconcerting to look at the crucified Christ, the desolate landscape of distorted faces and a woman comforting malnourished children, but viewers will be mesmerized by the myriad of symbols and symbolism and fascinated by the artist’s rendition of Christ on the cross.
The painting is on display at St. Maron Maronite Church, 1555 S. Meridian Road, and will remain there until Easter. After that, the painting will be available for exhibition in the Diocese of Youngstown and other Christian churches. It will be displayed next at St. Michael Church in Canfield. It is one of 50 giclee, hand-remarked paintings, that also feature a blue diamond. Denise DeBartolo York and her husband, Dr. John York, gave one as a gift to St. Patrick Church, and Tony Cafaro gave another to Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Bishop George Murry of the Diocese of Youngstown unveiled the original, which was exhibited last fall at McDonough Museum of Art.
The display at the church includes a scroll of the Catholic Theological Interpretation by Chorbishop Michael Kail and Raymond Nakley Jr. of St. Maron; Monsignor Michael Cariglio, pastor of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church; the Rev. Edward Noga, pastor of St. Patrick Church; and the Rev. Anthony Salim, a former pastor of St. Maron. Recently, Simon and Deacon William George of St. Maron discussed the painting.
Simon said though it sounds corny, the idea for the painting came to him “in a dream.” “It was so vivid,” he said.
Simon turned the memories from the dream into a bold painting that demands attention and provokes thought. Shadows and darkness, subdued colors and splashes of light combine for a powerful statement.
Though the painting is titled “The Crucifixion,” the perspective prompts the viewer to wonder if Christ is on an “invisible” cross or ascending to heaven. “I wanted to give the idea ... is He lifting up or coming down,” Simon said. And by the view’s perspective, looking up at Christ, his body is portrayed as healthy and vigorous.
“It forces you to look up. ... The overriding perspective is upward,” George said. “God sent His son to us. He taught us love and compassion but had pain and suffering,” he said.
Christ’s loin cloth displays currencies of the world, including the yen and U.S. dollar. His blood washes over the loin cloth. The theological interpretation refers to Christ’s blood as the “drink of our salvation,” and the money represents “humanity’s spiritual heart disease — that endless abyss of blind greed lodged within our hearts.”
“At the end of the day, we value money and it overshadows life itself,” Simon said.
The artist said he used the historically accurate fact of nail wounds in the wrists, not hands. He also has the lance wound on the left, which would have been the death wound to the heart.
The landscape is one of distorted faces and bones, broken rock, coins scattered about and snakes. The serpents are the traditional symbol of evil and temptation.
A riveting maternal figure on the right is Mary, the mother of God. Her face is tear-stained, as she comforts five malnourished children representing global populations. “I wanted to show that Mary hovers over us and intervenes for us,” Simon said.
Behind the figure of Christ are two images — a hand cradling the universe and a face in a moonlike sphere. “It’s the hand of God holding our environment,” Simon said. “We as children of God should be grateful for the gifts.”
Simon said one of the messages in the painting is that “God represents the good.” “We need to reach out to Him and reach up to Him,” he said.
The artist used the moon as a means of reflection. The heavenly orb projects no light of its own; it only reflects light from other bodies. The theological interpretation asks viewers to reflect on their failings and ponder the fact that we are the “them” for whom Jesus asked the Father’s forgiveness.
George said he is using the painting in a high school catechism class he teaches. Chorbishop Kail said, “This painting, ‘The Crucifixion,’ will ultimately become a cateshistic teaching tool.”
George said his students come up with “different interpretations,” which leads to more discussion and exchange of ideas. “They’ve moved by the painting ... and become introspective,” he said. “I think it is helping them develop a closer relationship with Jesus.”
The deacon said that youth may perceive Jesus as a “superhero.” The painting reminds us of “the bad in the world” and the struggle against it, he said. But, George added, other elements in the painting offer “hope above,” and if we “reach out in love to one another,” evil can be overcome.