INCANDESCENT WAFER, 2007

22" x 30",  Pastel on paper,  $7,500 

 

KALTENBACH ANNOTATIONS:  This represents the relationship made possible by the life and death of Jesus Christ. What I refer to is not religious philosophy but a joyful life experience that is available to anyone who wants it and is willing to ask for it. This is a surrender so counter intuitive that it requires a miraculous crossing of the borders of the logically possible.

 For me this divine adoption was an answer to my fears and loneliness; it expanded my world view in both time and space. It also changed my circle of friends to some extent due to the amazingly cultural incorrectness of this paradigm shift in my life. The wrongness of being a Christian in terms of the norms of the society of contemporary art has introduced me to the experience of acceptable prejudice. This has been the dark side of this most wonderful change. It is not the first time I've known prejudice. I remember it clearly from when I was a long haired, beaded hippy in the late sixties.

I think I have a fairly clear understanding of what the root causes of this disaffection are. First as a culture we Christians are very critical of the private choices that people make in their lives. We try to politically control the norms of our culture. Why we do this is a mystery to me. Christians are taught that we can't improve ourselves the tiniest bit by our own efforts; but that God can and is eager to do this for anyone who desires it. We don't have an ounce of faith that is of our own creation but we are given all that we are willing to use. God's primary interest is to draw us into close relationship with Him. We learn to ask that His will be done on Earth. We are taught that faith is not some supernatural power but the simple belief that God will do what He says He will do. So if we want God's willed changes to occur on Earth, whether in terms of nations or individuals we can ask for that and accept the fact that it will be.

LIVING TRUTH LOVES LIGHT, 1995

22" x 30", pastel on paper, $7,500