It\u2019s hard to miss the Big Idea when an artist puts it right on a painting in bold letters.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cHe That Believeth Not Shall Be Damned. Not A Crown But Hellfire And Brimstone,\u201d wrote Howard Finster, using his unorthodox spelling and grammar. \u201cIf You Only Had One Sweet Son And You Gave His Life To Save Ten Wicked Men. And They Returned And Denied That You Gave Your Only Son For Them And Said You Child Never Exist No One Died For Us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
There\u2019s more, written on the centerpiece of a 1990 exhibit in Washington, D.C. \u201cPlease Go Right Now And Call You Child To You. And Measure You Love For Him And Turn And Look At The Most Sinful Man You Know And Think If You Would Trade Your Presus Son For Him. God Is Love.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
That seems clear. Nevertheless, the curators posted a sign to reassure troubled patrons. Thus saith the Smithsonian: \u201cThe historical, popular and biblical subjects of Finster\u2019s portraits embody his concept of the inventor as someone whose creative process will provide the world\u2019s salvation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Funny, the preacher from northwest Georgia thought he was saying, \u201cRepent!\u201d<\/p>\n\n
\u201cProbably some people mean different kinds of salvation. I\u2019m talking about the salvation of Jesus Christ. That\u2019s what you gotta have,\u201d Finster once told author Frederica Mathewes-Green.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cMy vision right now is to lead the world to the Bible,\u201d he said. Many are not \u201clooking for a piece of art, they\u2019re looking for a message.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
So that\u2019s what Finster offered \u2014 a message. He spent four decades as a revival preacher and jack-of-all-trades repairman. Then, at age 60, he had one of his visions. He was fixing a bicycle when a blob of white paint on his hand formed a face that said: \u201cPaint sacred art.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
This didn\u2019t make much sense, but Finster did it. By the time of his death on Oct. 22nd, the 84-year-old evangelist had produced 47,000-plus signed works.<\/p>\n\n
This folk-art phenomenon shocked all kinds of people. To the modern-art elite, he was a force of nature. Yet no one could deny that Finster had a knack for touching tired, jaded souls. Meanwhile, some Christians couldn\u2019t figure out what he was doing playing banjo on the Tonight Show and painting album covers for rock superstars. He was guilty by association.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFinster was always a showman and the world of serious art considered him a kind of naive clown,\u201d said painter Ed Knippers. \u201cBut under that show, there was a very wise man. \u2026 What he was doing was putting little artistic time bombs out in the living rooms of the very people who tend to be the most critical of Christianity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
Over time, Finster let his art do the talking. Some of his messages were, after all, offensive to the people he wanted to reach as customers and converts. One Washington art gallery reportedly dropped him when the owners got tired of being called \u201cinfidels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
So Finster learned some manners and mastered the art of being colorful on cue. But he never changed his message. The artist\u2019s fundamentalist style was \u201cso in-your-face it was almost campy,\u201d said Knippers. His sermons in paint also intimidated the many Christian artists who insist that the key to mainstream acceptance is avoiding explicitly religious symbols and themes.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cFinster\u2019s art was a two-edged sword. The art world didn\u2019t know what to do with him and neither did the Christian world,\u201d Knippers said. \u201cHis work cut both ways. \u2026 That is always a sign of a true prophet who is managing to get a message across out in the real world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
What was that message? Here is Finster, once again, working with words instead of paint.<\/p>\n\n
\u201cWe all have the image of God in us and we belong to him, even if we\u2019re sinners,\u201d he said. \u201cLike the Bible says, \u2018God is love.\u2019 It means, if Hitler went to hell, God still loves him, and the way he got to hell was going over God\u2019s love. And if you die today and go to hell, even if you\u2019re in hell he still loves you. His love never stops, but you\u2019ve got to do something about his love. When you get saved and accept Him, you\u2019re alright.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It\u2019s hard to miss the Big Idea when an artist puts it right on a painting in bold letters. \u201cHe That Believeth Not Shall Be Damned. Not A Crown But Hellfire And Brimstone,\u201d wrote Howard Finster, using his unorthodox spelling and grammar. \u201cIf You Only Had One Sweet Son And You Gave His Life To […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":610,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-908","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n