Divinity and Depravity

We named our installation after a line in this section of a CD I haven’t listened to in years: A Collision or 3 + 4 = 7. The “song” title is “A Conversation.” This is the half leading up to the end where we chose our title.

Andy: Wait a second. Ok. So correct me if I’m wrong but uhmm…

David: Yeah.

Andy: …in the script I have you’re…

David: Right.

Andy: …making a point that art does this…

David: Right.

Andy: …you know the whole, “it rises on wing from earth to fill the heavens…

David: Yes.

Andy: …pulling the rest of us with it. That as the lark rises so do we.”

David: Right. I’m unsure.

Andy: But. Uh. Hold on. I mean…it…it says so right here.

David: Yeah. Uhmm. But the ground pulls at my feet.

Andy: Hold…hold on just a second. Uh but I mean what about the number 7?

David: Did you ever notice that the sky is all the way to the ground?

Andy: Wait. Hold on. What?

David: We’re walking around in it. We’re in the sky. There is sky and there is ground and we’re somewhere in between. That is where we live. And sometimes some of us take wing and when they do, when their feet leave the ground, even for a second, they pull the rest of us with them. And when we rise, and when we rise, and when we notice that the sky has been around us all along. We have been walking into it. It has been this constant collision. Divinity and depravity. And we rise…”

Elisa asked me if I wanted to do a collaboration project. Originally, we had thought we were going to do some mash up between a digital piece on her part and a painting on mine. We got to together and brainstormed possibilities, and in the process of thinking about the concept of “faith, felt not seen,” we both had thought of the wind, something obviously felt but only known through the things it affects. This was the inspiration for the installation, something neither of us had done before, and it took flight from there.

Here’s our artist statement:

Divinity and Depravity

Elisa Hutsell and Keilah Uhre

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
—Hebrews 11:1

Much like the wind, faith is something that is unseen. It is evident in the way we react to the Word and with each other, but is not tangible.

“Divinity & Depravity” is an expression of the lightness of faith and the elements of the Word which bring about hope, change, and a feeling of belonging to the One God. The leaves contain verses written in permanent ink, representing how the Word of God lasts and is true. The leaves containing verses are marked with silver, showing the importance of their content and the value of their origin. The remainder of the leaves reflect things of heaven, and goodness that brings about lightness in our lives from following in Jesus’ steps.

Below are the rocks, the things that anchor us and keep us in a world of sin. The rocks cannot react to the wind just like sin cannot be inspired by faith. The path through represents the journey we have to take amidst the leaves of faith and through a world of sin. Hidden in the rocks, written in chalk, are the seven deadly sins: Pride, Greed, Gluttony, Lust, Sloth, Envy, and Wrath. Like the chalk, our sins can be washed away. These are the sins of this transient world—they won’t last. In heaven, there will be no more sin.

As you will notice, there is a circlet of red leaves surrounding a singular triune cluster in the center. These represent wholeness, the trinity, the suffering of the disciples with Jesus—the leaves in the circlet being pierced like Jesus—and the difficult parts of faith. We fit into the circle on the ground and look up to the circle above us. Like with the messages on the leaves, we have to seek out our faith.

Faith, something felt, not seen.

The fan moves the leaves, representing the way faith moves us.

I really enjoyed working with Elisa through the project. She was very patient with me. I hope we can do more collaborations in the future, but with drawings and paintings and the like.