Jeremy Wold - Acrylics, Sculpture, Printmaking, Photography

"Is art necessary within the Church? Can art be godly outside of the confines of the Church? Though I cannot fully answer these questions, I am recognizing the possibilities of utilizing art as a teaching, worship and thought-provoking tool both inside and outside of the Church.

Visual art has a differing impact on people merely for the fact that some are more visually stimulated as opposed to verbally. The tension between these two varying mediums of communication has always been interesting to me and is one of the reasons that I majored in Communication Studies, as well as art, at Westmont College. Dimet summed it up well when he said that 'speaking is painting to the ear and drawing is talking to the eye.'

The pieces that are shown here are the visuals that I focused upon when looking into the crucifixion of our Christ. One thing to note is the absence of the cross from this depiction of the crucifixion. The reason for this is that historically it is concentrated upon the most, and, in my opinion, it is of the least importance in its significance. The Blood is a large acrylic painting representing the Old Testament need for a blood sacrifice for our sins. This has been, and will be, the only sacrifice that covers all of our shortcomings. The Water is a monotype that shows the water flowing from his side as it was pierced, the end of his ministry that began with baptism. Grace is a dry point print that shows Jesus’ hand extending to the other prisoner hung on the cross next to him. This robber was a deserving recipient of the death that was soon to be his and, yet, paradise awaited him because of Jesus’ grace. The Scar on the foot of Christ is a larger-than-life alabaster sculpture that shows Jesus as fully human, yet able to fulfill the purpose of humanity in a way that humans have not been able to…and bears the scars to prove it. Finally, The Shadow Remains is a photograph that represents the impact of the sacrifice - we are now seen in God’s eyes as pure, or redeemed, and the Holy Spirit remains the guide and communicator to Father God. Christ’s shadow did not leave when Christ’s body ascended from this earth."