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A Saintly Exhibit
The Four Moments of the Sun, acrylic on canvas, 84 inches diagonal, 1994.
de Kooning by way of a friendship with his wife, Elaine, who had been Dodd Chair at the Lamar Dodd School of Art in the late 1970s. “She was a remarkable, single-minded woman for whom art was practically a religion and she was deeply loyal to her friends,” McWillie says. “I spent time at [the de Koonings’] farm in upstate New York and taught at Southampton College on Long Island one summer. Regardless of their fame, these artists lived simply, were skeptical of consumerism, and moved about easily with an expansive ‘worldliness’ that was new to me.” McWillie says she could not help but compare them to the African-American visionaries she had studied and befriended, “none of whom were isolated in the same way that these famous artists were.” She says she “passed the point of no return” when she turned down an opportunity to leave the South for a teaching job in Connecticut. “The paintings at CBU grew out of the need to reconcile all of these complex and seemingly divergent experiences as they unfolded over the years. Painting continues to be my chosen companion and road map to the future.” “We are so pleased Judy’s work has found a home here at CBU,” says Brother Robert Werle, curator of art and special collections. “The spiritual dimensions of her work fit so well with the mission and everyday life of our campus. They give us such an insight into the life of the artist whose depth is spread throughout the canvas she paints.” n RELIC PHOTOS BY CORY DUGAN
A COLLECTION OF relics belonging to the De La Salle Archives of the Christian Brothers of the Midwest District is on exhibit through May 1 on the main level of Plough Memorial Library. The 358 relics are exhibited publicly once every three years so that students and others interested can view them and learn about the history of relics in the Catholic Tradition. The look of the exhibit has been modernized to help students and others to better understand the men and women saints whom it honors. A relic, as defined by The Modern Catholic Encyclopedia, is an object kept and reverenced as a memorial of a holy person or saint. Relics include bodily remains of such persons (i.e., bones) as well as objects that once belonged to them or which they touched (i.e., clothing). For an object to be classified as a relic, it must be certified as authentic by Church authority, and may not be bought or sold for money. The collection contains the relics of many saints whose names are familiar to us: Thomas, Aloysius Gonzaga, Ambrose, Anastasia, Andrew the Apostle, Anthony of Padua, Benedict, Clare of Assisi, Dominic, Francis of Assisi, Francis Xavier Cabrini, Ignatius, Saint John the Apostle, John Baptist de la Salle, Joseph and Mary, Martin de Porres, the Apostles Matthew and Peter, Paul, John the Baptist, Teresa of Jesus, Valentine, and Vincent de Paul. It also includes the relics of others whose names do not immediately spring to mind but who are nonetheless saints. Relics from Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American saint, and the Christian Brother Martyrs of Turon, who were killed in Spain in 1934, are also included. “The relics aren’t here to be worshiped,” says Brother Robert Werle, CBU curator of art and Midwest district archivist. “They’re to be revered as mementos from important people in the Catholic faith.” Most of the miniscule relics are sealed inside medallions called thecae. Many are then placed inside ornate reliquaries made of brass. The relics themselves may date from ancient times, but Brother Robert explains that the reliquaries themselves are only about 80 years old. n
Top: Reliquary containing a relic of St. Peter; above: reliquary containg a relic of St. Benilde, the first Christian Brother canonized by Rome.
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