LOOK: Around the Circle by Wassily Kandinsky
I saw this vibrant abstract painting by the pioneering Russian French artist Wassily Kandinsky at the Guggenheim in 2022. The museum label stated:
Around the Circle, one of Kandinsky’s last major paintings, is a milestone in the artist’s circular journey. It reflects not only contemporary concerns but also his abiding interest in the belief systems and folklore of Russian and Siberian cultures. The dominant red circle at top center; the form cresting the undulating lines of “sacred waters” below; and a third, upside-down stylized humanoid form at bottom right have all been interpreted as potential allusions to shamans, or spiritual leaders and healers, in states of transformation. At bottom left, a lunar orb glows in the expanse beyond an open doorway, which is connected to a set of stairs with no physical support. This could be a portal to the cosmos, or some otherwise indeterminate space beyond the picture plane, in a probable nod to alternate dimensions or to the capacity for mystical ascendance.
What do I see? Color. Confetti, streamers, celebration. A rocket ship. Stars. Birds. Waves. A falling man. A doorway. An eye.
Advent is a dual-toned season that combines lament and penitence—an honest accounting of the brokenness of the planet, global and personal relationships, systems, and our own selves—with joyful expectation of Christ’s glorious intervention. In my annual Advent selections I seek to honor this characteristic balance between darkness and light.
Today’s art selection leans into the light—into the bubbling joy for what is just over the horizon, or just through the door. I think of the Magnificat of the Mother of God, a praise song in which, pregnant with Christ, she exults in the powerful being thrown down and the humble uplifted. She sings of the marvelous salvation wrought by God.
Let us rejoice with her in the righteousness to come.
LISTEN: “Maranatha” by David Benjamin Blower, on Hymns for Nomads, vol. 1 (2018)
Let the trees all clap their hands
And the stones all jump for joy
Let the earth shake off its bonds
Let the peoples all rejoiceRefrain:
Maranatha, our Maker
Who maketh all things right
Maranatha, our Healer
Come rise, O healing lightLet the peoples all delight
In the messianic light
Let the whole earth be glad
At the making all things right [Refrain]Let the poor be lifted up
From the ashes and the dust
Let the proud climb down from their thrones
And we all shall be reconciled at once [Refrain]
Art & Theology 