The Wedding Feast of the Lamb

Movement I

The Sickness Unto Death

Abram Johnson

Behold, my servants shall sing for gladness of heart,
but you shall cry out for pain of heart
and shall wail for breaking of spirit.

(Isaiah 65:14)

Over the last couple of years, one of the recurring themes in my own thought is the reality of existential despair as it is experienced universally by all human beings. At its core, despair finds its substance, root, and constant cause as separation from God the Creator, and finds its origin in the sin of Adam and Eve which resulted in their exile from him. It can only be found in a world of pain, loneliness, and death, a world where existence is necessarily impermanent as a result of the fall. It wouldn’t be proper to call this series of pieces a culmination of my meditations, but rather an expression of them, arising from the intense feelings and urgency that such a terrible subject invokes.

The medium of most of these pieces is a mode of digital art known as “glitch art.” Glitch art differs from other digital mediums in that the key step of the creative process is an intentional and manual manipulation in the code of an image file, altering it irreversibly and producing a dramatically different result. Because of this, many examples of glitch art have distinct, linear features and repetitions that remind the viewer of a computer screen. This medium was chosen for these pieces for this reason; it reminds the viewer of the harsh, cold realities of despair, while also demonstrating the fragility of manmade systems.

One might notice that overall there is seemingly a lack of redemption in the first movement of this show. The cure for the “sickness unto death” may be found only in the arms of Christ himself~ this theme will arise in Movement II.

“The possibility of this sickness is man’s advantage over the beast; to be sharply observant of this sickness constitutes the Christian’s advantage over the natural man; to be healed of this sickness is the Christian’s bliss.” ~Søren Kierkegaard

Movement II

THE

REVELATION

TO JOHN

By Madeline Johnson

Take comfort dear one, for one day, through faith, we will dwell with God. This is the promise and glory that he gives us. “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak this make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” (Hebrews 11: 13-16).

Revelation is filled with descriptions of bright colors. These finger paintings are created with those colors in mind by using flowers. Flowers are used to represent those found in the Garden of Eden. Eden was created for us by God because of his love for us. After the fall, God sent his son to mend the brokenness and because of Christ, God promises us the new heavens and the new earth. “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). As you are taken through revelation, be reminded of his glory and love for us.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1: 1-3).

Accompanying this movement with a Bible is recommended.