Posted on 12/01/2008 2:49:43 PM PST by Pyro7480
An image of a very pregnant Mary, the mother of Jesus, looks down on Old Town from a billboard on West Burnside Street and Northwest Third Avenue. In the weeks before Christmas, she is a reminder of the approaching celebration of her son's birth.
She's also a testament to a Milwaukie woman's deeply held beliefs.
"I'm not political," says Valerie Aschbacher, who commissioned the sculpture that was photographed for the billboard. "Mary's not political. She's an image of the gospel of life."
Many people would not agree. They see life -- when it begins and how it ends -- as a political issue. Abortion and physician-assisted suicide continue to be campaign issues for many voters.
So it's not surprising that Aschbacher's billboard has sparked a dispute in a time divided by life issues.
The Catholic Sentinel, the official newspaper of the Catholic Church in Oregon, reported recently that developers of the Planned Parenthood clinic in Northeast Portland had crews remove a billboard structure on their property before Aschbacher's ad, which the Sentinel characterized as an anti-abortion ad, was scheduled to appear on it.
James Adamson, a spokesman for Beech Street Partners, the developer, said the decision had nothing to do with ad content.
"We needed the space" for the construction project, he said....
Images of an obviously pregnant Mary are rare, said Jane Kristof, professor emeritus of art history at Portland State University.
"Generally, it was considered undignified," she said. "The same is true of Mary nursing." Artists instead rendered Mary gesturing toward her stomach to suggest that she was pregnant, Kristof said....
(Excerpt) Read more at oregonlive.com ...
"Generally, it was considered undignified," she said. "The same is true of Mary nursing."
Come again? Is she just mouthing the typical odd lefty talking points about Christianity? This link, which includes images of art by Michelangelo, da Vinci, and Rembrandt, would seem to run contrary to her musing.
Catholic ping!
**James Adamson, a spokesman for Beech Street Partners, the developer, said the decision had nothing to do with ad content.
“We needed the space” for the construction project, he said.... **
Oh, riiiiiiight!
What an idiot...I received a BA in Art History 17 years ago, and can readily think of a number of pregnant Mary images by well known and highly regarded artists from the middle ages into the 19th Century.
**Images of an obviously pregnant Mary are rare, said Jane Kristof, professor emeritus of art history at Portland State University. **
The writer is obviously undereducated in Catholicism or knows nothing about Our Lady of Guadalupe.
In the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the virgin Mary wears a black sash. This was an connotation of pregnancy at that time and for that part of the world.
I dare say that many has seen that image of a pregnant Mary — thus rendering the author’s statement untrue.
I dare say that many have seen that image of a pregnant Mary — thus rendering the author’s statement untrue
I believe the professor’s meaning of “visibly pregnant” is abundantly clear here. Let’s not be so quick to judge.
The only true picture of the Mother of God To the Aztecs a message To the Spaniards a picture color, lines, stars, designs, rays, moon. all have meaning
Flowers and Songs
Mary appeared on Tepeyac, the hill was covered with flowers, surrounded by songs of the most beautiful birds
meaning: flowers and songs mean the full truth
DESCRIPTION
Image
Size of the image: 6 1/2' X 3 1/2' Mary adolescent, around 15, oval face, Mexican clear dark face, a little mother
Angel
as a caryatid, wings half open, sustain Our Lady red, white, blue in color the angel is holding both: the pink dress represents earth; the blue mantle represents heaven meaning: Heaven and earth are witnesses to the truth of the apparition message
Stars
Brightest gold - finest - royalty: as if woven, as if they would fall at touch 48 stars, 8 points; 22 on right, 26 on left show constellations that were in the sky at the time of the apparition 10:30 am December 12, 1531
pattern: The stars on one side represent the northern constellations, the others represent the southern constellations. Can see Venus the morning star, Virgo would fall on the hands, Leo on the womb, crown of stars on the head.
Dress
in Nahuatl the designs of gold thread as embroidered flowers of 8 petals represent mountains; the only 4-petal flower on womb just below sash in the center means life and movement
Sash
tied around the waist; symbol of pregnancy Central part of dress bulging - means She is with child
Cuffs
End of dress rolled back over the sleeves white fur means nobility - dressed in Jewish nobility - nothing Indian about it
Hands
joined in prayer of supplication, therefore not a goddess; there is someone greater than Her
Moon
stands on moon, horns up - Rev. 12:1 moon pagan god of night, providence, youth, war She is greater than the moon
Sun
mighty god; Our Lady blocks the sun behind Her She is brighter than the sun god
Rays
rays bright near body, fade out away from body 129 rays - 62 on right, 67 on left equidistant alternating forms: 1) straight like swords 2) undulating flames
Red Border
because of rising sun - new life
Cloud
surrounding the entire image
I stand by my original post. The writer is not educated in Catholicism or she would have been abundantly aware of the images of the Blessed Virgin Mary as pregnant.
What’s that, the Norwegian version? Yellow hair, white face, red sash ... it’s not the image of the Tilma at all.
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Yes, any Visitation painting has a pregnant Mary, although not always showing much. Nursing Madonnas are very common.
I have to agree with Salvation, that the author is likely unaware of Catholic tradition and art re depictions of Mary-as-pregnant. My first thought on seeing the image in post #8 of Our Lady of Guadalupe was "well, she doesn't look very pregnant!" Then I read further, and saw the explanations re the red sash (which I get) and the dress bulge (which honestly I don't see). The point here is that someone had to explain it to me - I don't see it in the image itself.
Honestly, the statue in the Portland billboard looks far more pregnant (or to be charitable, farther along in pregnancy) than Our Lady of Guadalupe does.
I know....I’ve painted several ;-) Although my area of interest has been primarily in medieval manuscript illumination/miniatures (some samples of my work are on my FR page), I’m also fond of proto and high-renaissance fresco, stained glass, sculpture, etc. and the more I think of it, the fecund Madonna is probably more of the rule than the exception...
It’s supposed to be a black sash, and no, she doesn’t look especially pregnant. Of course, it’s her first baby :-). but any depiction that’s supposed to be close to Christmas would legitimately show a substantial bulge.
Depictions of the Virgin Mary as visibly pregnant or nursing the Baby went out of fashion when it became Tacky for any women to be seen pregnant or nursing. It varies by culture in different time periods.
What the liberal sensibilities is offended by is the suggestion that it is a baby.
"Generally, it was considered undignified," she said. "The same is true of Mary nursing." Artists instead rendered Mary gesturing toward her stomach to suggest that she was pregnant, Kristof said....
Undignified? Is this guy one of those sterile leftist Euros?
Have you ever been to the shrine of Our Lady of La Leche?
http://www.missionandshrine.org/la_leche.htm
There is a beautiful statue of the Blessed Mother nursing our Savior.
No, I’ve never been there. It is a lovely statue.
Marking...
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