LOOK: Untitled by Purvis Young
From the gallery label at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, where I first encountered this painting in 2019:
Purvis Young was a long-time resident of Overtown, a Black neighborhood in Miami, Florida. He began drawing while in jail, after a vision led him to embrace the idea of becoming an artist. He educated himself about the history of art, and focused on a daily routine of making art, much of it on public surfaces and walls. In Untitled, as in much of Young’s work, angels and horses are prominently featured; angels represent goodness and horses represent freedom. Just as he had found salvation through art, he hoped his own art would bring harmony to his neighborhood, and to the world.
In the foreground of the painting, four angels look onto a scene of what appears to be celebration. Myriad figures hold aloft circular items—tambourines? halos? Is this the gathering of saints in heaven, where goodness and freedom abound?
LISTEN: “At Your Home (Bevetcha)” by Shilo Ben Hod, on Shuv | Once Again (2020)
(Turn on CC for English subtitles.)
Kama simcha yesh bevetcha, kshe’kulam sharim beyachad
Al shehaya al sheyieh ve’al kol she’Ata oseh
Hayu yamim tovim yoter, ach le’olam lo nevater
Al hasimcha ha’arucha, she’od tavo ken hi tavoRefrain:
Kulam yadaim ba’avir, lifneh Yeshua chogegim
Nireh tuvcha sham bamromim, ach gam be’erets hachaim
Narim kolenu la’shamayim, unemaleh otam beshir
Nachgog yachdav ke’mishpacha, kshe’navo shuv le’vetchaIm lo nashir unehalel ha’avanim lo ishteku
Kol habria lecha koret, baruch haba Maran Ata
Bein im od shana o od me’ah, lecha namtin betsipia
Hu she’ala, gam od yered ve’az tatchil hachagiga [Refrain]Outro:
Hineh ma tov uma naim, kshe’kulanu mehalelim
Sharim beyachad le’Elohim, kol echad hu chelek, kulam bifnimENGLISH TRANSLATION:
There’s so much joy in Your home, when everyone is singing
About what was, and what will be, and about everything You’re doing
There were better days, but we’ll never give up
On the joy that has been prepared, that will come, yes, joy will comeRefrain:
Lift up your hands; we’re celebrating before Yeshua [Jesus]
We’ll see Your goodness in heaven, but also in the land of the living
We’ll lift our voices to the heavens, filling them with song
We’ll celebrate as a family, when we come again into Your homeIf we won’t sing and worship, the stones will not remain silent
All of creation is calling for You, “Blessed are You! Come, Lord. Maranatha.”
Whether it takes a year or a hundred, we’ll wait for You with expectancy
He who ascended will descend again, and then our celebration will start [Refrain]Outro:
How good and pleasant it is, when all of us worship
Singing together to God, everyone takes part, everybody is in
Shilo Ben Hod is a Messianic Jewish worship leader from Israel. He sings this song of his in Hebrew with his wife, Sarah, and other family and friends.
Art & Theology 