Mmmm, I know now what an insect feels like, not in a nasty way, but rather like the kind of little obscure thing that hasn't been given a name yet, and then suddenly it says in the papers in a half-inch of a column, 'New species discovered in Madagascar' or wherever. So when I found out that one of the judges of the Southwark art competition had a declared interest in 'art as exegesis', I suddenly felt as though I existed in a way I had not existed before! since what I do is meant to be 'textile exegesis'; I had even made myself a badge saying 'Textile exegete' (pic not included as it came out all blurry).
In case you aren't familiar with the term, this is from Wikipedia:
"Exegesis (from the Greek ἐξήγησις from ἐξηγεῖσθαι 'to lead out') is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used for greater specificity. The goal of Biblical exegesis is to explore the meaning of the text which then leads to discovering its significance or relevance."
"The main comments I have are on the winning adult entry. It seems to me to capture some of the importance of the frequent 'doubling' effect in the OT/Hebrew BIble, where the significance of something emerges out of the juxtaposition of two versions of it. So, for example, there are two creations - the second being after the Flood. There are two givings of the Law (Moses gets the tablets a second time, having broken the first set). And in this case, there are two partners of Abraham )Hagar and Sarah), and two children of promise (Ishmael and Isaac). The matching garments (with their womb-pockets) are doubles of each other that invite us to attend closely to their subtle differences. Then some wonderful surprises emerge. Hagar, often viewed by mainstream Judaeo-Christian tradition as the offcast one, emerges as the more free, colourful, joyous figure, and this is because she is in some way able to emerge from Abraham's shadow and become his equal, as herself the progenitor of a great nation. The colours are brighter and the lines more flowing. Sarah's are dominated by black, and by rigid straight lines. The '1st', which is Hagar's badge, is an ironic reference to her coming 'second' in Abraham's affections, but has the more positive meaning that she - like Abraham - is really an *originator*: the first of a new line... The little attributes of the children in the womb are charming and meaningful. I always think that one could do a Freudian reading of Ishmael's becoming a great bowman, because when his mother set him down in the desert, believing they were both about to die, she moved a bowshot's distance away in order to sit down and weep. So the child's longing to reach the mother whom he fears might abandon him is measured by a bowshot, and his whole life's task becomes about crossing the distance he needs to cross in order to regain his mother... Of course he became an archer (Freud would say!)."
This is a very generous summing up, and also adds considerably to my own understanding of the text, especially the bit about Ishmael the archer, which explains something I felt at a subcoscious level, and hopefully is an indication that in trying to be faithful to the text, I have carried things over from the text that are there and that I didn't fully understand while I did it. Reception history in the making; not 'misunderstanding' but 'furthering understanding' as a result of his dialogue with the text and with my pieces. I hope that future viewers of the pieces will take on board the reasons elaborated by Ben for how and why it is important for Ishmael had to have a bow and arrow on the front of his tunic, just as Isaac has a woolly lamb/ram. Brilliant of him. For info on Ben Quash, you can begin here:
http://www.kcl.ac.uk/artshums/depts/trs/people/staff/academic/quash/index.aspx
Following this link, I began to find out about a process called 'Scriptural Reasoning', which is about members of the three Abrahamic faiths reading their scriptures together in an atmosphere of mutual respect, and nothing to do with collapsing three faiths together into one. It got very interesting, and I could see that this is something for real intellectuals to do, and that my role is to cheer from the sidelines and get back to my sewing. But it made me feel proud that I had included in my pieces a circle broken into three equal parts, with a symbol on each for Judaism, Islam and Christianity: looking forward to a time when adherents of these can all exist together peacefully, which is one of the aims of Scriptural Reasoning. And so I am looking forward very much to the arrival of a book by Ben, co-authored with Michael Ward:
The second line of the title is 'Why it matters what Christians believe'. This is so exciting. It might rekindle in me an interest in the New Testament and its chief character, who has been rather sidelined by Hagar of late; but I'm sure he's big enough to take that, and will welcome me back.
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