{"id":520,"date":"2015-06-24T21:07:09","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T21:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brendarees.com\/?p=520"},"modified":"2015-11-01T21:25:42","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T21:25:42","slug":"vessels-and-channels-the-tidings-january-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/?p=520","title":{"rendered":"Vessels and Channels, The Tidings, January 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Climbing into the exhibition space, Toparovsky gracefully maneuvered past his image of Prometheus, the mortal who stole fire from the gods and was punished by being chained to a rock for eternity and having his liver eaten out every day by an eagle.<\/div>\n
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\u201cA sacrifice for the good of humanity is a story that happens in every culture,\u201d explains Toparovsky, whose artwork celebrates the breadth of the human condition \u2014 the difficult, the painful, the sublime and the wondrous.<\/p>\n

After he was satisfied with the rock pile configuration, Toparovsky exited the exhibition space and pointed out that his Prometheus has the legs of a raptor. \u201cThink about it,\u201d he challenged. \u201cIf you are having your liver eaten out every day, you would need to embrace your enemy in order to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

That spiritual imagery and more fuels the current exhibition of complex mixed-media, sculpture, photography and digital imaging that spans three unique-shaped spaces in the cathedral. The theme draws upon ancient stories, mythology, historical references and contemporary narratives to convey the depths of the human experience and its transcendent connections.<\/p>\n

Toparovsky, an internationally acclaimed artist, is no stranger to the cathedral \u2014 he designed and created the life-size bronze crucifix that adorns the altar, a beloved image for visitors and parishioners.<\/p>\n

At first blush, it may seem ironic that Toparovsky, who considers himself an observant, if non-practicing Jew, was selected to design the crucifix (his first liturgical commission). But his artistic recognition and sensitivity to spiritual aspects made him the perfect artist to create Christ on the cross, an experience that he recalled was \u201coverwhelming, magical, wonderful and exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith that commission, came a great responsibility,\u201d he said. \u201cOnce that was installed, it never felt like it belonged to me anymore. I mean, how could it? It\u2019s not the same. It\u2019s invested with the energy of the world. It\u2019s now an icon for so many.\u201d<\/p>\n

Indeed, Toparovsky is often approached and thanked for his work when he is at the cathedral. \u201cThey will come up and throw their arms around me, wanting pictures and kissing me and looking so delighted,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it\u2019s not me, it\u2019s not who I am that they are responding to. I am just a conduit. A conduit for courage and the vulnerable.\u201d<\/p>\n

For this current exhibition, Toparovsky created unique spaces for cathedral-goers to meditate on, consider and ponder. In this first chapel (located at the end of the cathedral\u2019s main entrance), you will find a high, hedge-like structure with leaping creatures popping out of it. Peer into a small window and see a garden of bronze\u00a0plant life, a shimmering light and \u2026 a mysterious elevator door.<\/p>\n

A secret garden? A metaphor for life\u2019s barriers? The journey between earth and heaven? All of the above and more, said Toparovsky.<\/p>\n

Turn the corner and discover the second art room that Toparovsky refers to as a lararium, the ancient Roman custom of creating a sacred place near the front door where offerings and prayers could be made. Here works of art on paper and sculpture fill up a vibrant blue lacy wall with other artwork \u2014 evoking modern and ancient sensibilities \u2014 positioned throughout for spiritual speculation.<\/p>\n

The bronze\u00a0torso may seem familiar \u2014 it\u2019s St. Sebastian, an early church martyr who is often depicted leaning against a tree, dying from multiple arrows shot into his body. In this instance, St. Sebastian\u2019s body is also melding into the tree to signify his connection to Christ on the cross.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to portray him with as much beauty and dignity I could imagine,\u201d says Toparvosky about the saint who did not die from the arrows, but who was ultimately beaten to death.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted this exhibition to celebrate the breadth of the human condition,\u201d sums up Toparovsky. \u201cTo be able to accept that things in life are hard and still carry on. That there are sacrifices to make in order to get that the place where things are wonderful \u2014 and to have that personal connection to the sublime.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spending time with artists is a reminder of the creative spirit. Artist Simon Toparovsky discusses his latest exhibition at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":612,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-520","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-the-tidings","9":"post-with-thumbnail","10":"post-with-thumbnail-large"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=520"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":623,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/520\/revisions\/623"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/612"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.brendarees.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}