William Sutherland's photos with the keyword: Religion

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350 exhibit, New York, NY l.: Enthroned Virgin (Terracotta) by navtive Siena artist Goro Di Gregorio circa 1300-1334. Terracotta. r.: Head of Christ (Fragment of a Crucifix) by Lando Di Pietro circa 1280-1340. Woodcarving. The Head of Christ testifies to a miracle. Originally part of a life-sized crucifix, it survived an Allied aerial bombing raid outside Siena, Italy on 23 January, 1944 that struck the late 18th century Church of the Osservanza where it was displayed. Adding to the miracle, two pieces of an inscribed parchment by the artist also survived. They were discovered inside the remains of the badly damaged corpus that invited “the Virgin and numerous saints to join him in his supplication for mercy.”

Metropolitan Museum of Art - Siena: The Rise of Painting, 1300-1350 exhibit, New York, NY Virgin and Child by Palaiologan, circa 1260-70. Tempera on wood with metal and bejeweled revetment. Located in the Carmelite church of San Niccolò in Siena, Italy.

Church of St. Augustine (built 1928), Larchmont, NY l. Crucifix ; r. top Crucifixion Stained Glass Window ; r. bottom Mary Magdalene Stained Glass Window

St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, Rye Brook, NY Stained Glass window created in 1970 featuring St. Paul, a sword and a chain to capture his life as a persecutor and then a prisoner for Christ following his conversion.

St. Paul Roman Catholic Church, Rye Brook, NY Abstract of a stained glass window created in 1970 with panes featuring humble prayer, a cross and Ichthys "fish."

Saint Paul Roman Catholic Church, Rye Brook, NY When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit ... [Acts 2:1-4] And as [Jesus] was praying, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him... like a dove... [Luke 3:21-22] Descent of the Holy Spirit : The Holy Spirit descends upon Mary and the Apostles on Pentecost Sunday. [Third Glorious Mystery of the Rosary] To Jesus, son of Mary, We... supported him with the [H] oly [S] pirit (Ruh al-Qudus) . [Qu'ran: Al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2:253] …the Spirit of God (Ruach Elohim) was hovering over the face of the water [a] nd God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. [Torah: Bereshit (Genesis) 1:2-3]

Created with Dall-e 2® and Smart Photo Editor® . And on the first of the week, about the third hour of the night, the sun was seen such as it had never at any time shone, and all the heaven was lighted up. [A]n innumerable multitude of angels cr[ied] out… saying: Glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace, among [people] of goodwill: come up out of Hades, ye who have been kept in slavery… And at their voice all the mountains and hills were shaken, and the rocks were burst asunder… [a]nd there were seen… [the] dead raised up… And all the multitude walked about, and sang praises to God… saying: The Lord our God that has risen from the dead has brought to life all the dead, and has plundered Hades, and put him to death. The Report of Pontius Pilate/Letter to Tiberius Early on the first day of the week… Mary of Magdala went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance… Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb and saw two angels in white… They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?” “They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” John 20:1, 11-13 [An] angel said… “Do not be afraid... He is not here; he has risen, just as he said!” Matthew 28:5-6

Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (l.) The Crucifixion , about 1730. Porcelain; ebonized wood cross with gilt-bronze mounts. Du Paquier Porcelain Manufactory (Austria); (r.) Vesperbild (Pietà) , 1515-20. Lindenwood, polychromed and gilded. Master of Rabenden (Upper Bavaria, Germany)

St. Nicholas of Myra Byzantine Catholic Church, White Plains, NY It was encouraging to see Pope Francis demonstrated courage to attend the 2022 Kazakh Interfaith Summit despite objections from the dying minority that cling to the archaic and obsolete “one true religion” view that is antithetical to God's love, limits the power of the resurrection, monopolizes Jesus Christ’s saving grace and has caused so much human grief and suffering through the ages. During this conference, participants referenced the historic “Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together” signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed Al Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar in Abu Dhabi, UAE (February 2019). During his closing speech, Pope Francis reinforced Point 10 of the summit’s declaration – “We note that pluralism and differences in religion, skin color, gender, race, and language are expressions of the wisdom of God’s will in creation. …any incident of coercion to a particular religion and religious doctrine is unacceptable” [1] – declaring “extremism, radicalism, terrorism and all other forms of violence and wars, whatever their goals, have nothing to do with true religion and must be rejected in the strongest possible term.” He also called on “world leaders to ‘abandon all aggressive and destructive rhetoric which leads to destabilization… and to cease from conflict and bloodshed…” [2] _________ [1] Hannah Brockhaus. Kazakhstan interreligious congress adopts declaration calling religious pluralism ‘God’s will.’ CAN (Catholic News Agency). 21 September 2022. www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252298/kazakhstan-interreligious-congress-adopts-declaration-calling-religious-pluralism-gods-will [2] Nicole Winfield. Pope criticized over interfaith event. The Journal News. 10 September 2022. 3A.

St. Patricks Cathedral, New York, NY And on the first of the week, about the third hour of the night, the sun was seen such as it had never at any time shone, and all the heaven was lighted up. [A] n innumerable multitude of angels cr [ied] out… saying: “Glory in the highest to God, and on earth peace, among [people] of goodwill…” [A] t their voice all the mountains and hills were shaken, and the rocks were burst asunder… [a] nd there were seen… [the] dead raised up… And all the multitude walked about, and sang praises… saying: “The Lord our God that has risen from the dead has brought to life all the dead…” [The Report of Pontius Pilate (c. 33-40 CE)] “When he was buried, they set guards upon him – yet while my soldiers watched him, he rose again on the third day… The soldiers… did not remain silent about what had happened. They testified that they saw him arisen.” [Paul Winter. A Letter from Pontius Pilate. Novum Testamentum. Vol. 7. Fasc. 1. (March 1964). 38.] “He appeared to them… restored to life.” [Flavius Josephus. Antiquities of the Jews. Book 18, Chapter 3,3. (c. 71 CE)]

Created from four merged images – a window display at a Port Chester, NY restaurant taken 18 April 2014, photograph of the Ten Commandments tablets that symbolizes the law of the Torah (New Rochelle, NY), scripture from a Torah taken 17 May 2021 (Larchmont, NY) and a free clipart image of the Star of David, the symbol of the Jewish people. Wishing every Jewish person a Happy Shavuot even if it’s a little late due to server downtime!

Created 26 April 2021 from three photos – a red sphere, Mount Vernon, NY (8 May 2012), a section of the sculpture “Passage” at Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Gardens, Purchase, NY (9 May 2012), and a Corpus at St. Joseph’s Church, Yonkers, NY (18 October 2009). This creation was inspired by Spanish artist Salvador Dalí’s (1904-1989) “Crucifixion” (Corpus Hypercubus) painted in 1954. The red sphere representing the rock that was found rolled away from Christ’s tomb on Easter morning (c. AD 33) takes the place of Dalí’s hypercube. The section of the sculpture “Passage” by Richard Erdman and Roman Travertine, 1985 represents the empty tomb hewn out of stone. The resurrected Jesus with outstretched arms and radiance emanating from his risen “glorified” body stands in front of the stone (red sphere) that had been rolled away epitomizing the triumph of life over death. The various shades, swirls, and bokeh are intended to represent the same “nuclear mysticism” and surrealism as Dalí’s masterpiece painting. Consequently, the pocked rock of the tomb melds with the sky joining heaven and earth, every point on the sphere’s surface is equidistant from its center representing completeness and perpetuity and the tones, swirls and bokeh portray the transition from the spatial temporal reality of our world to the non-spatial eternity of the Kingdom to come made possible by Christ’s resurrection. Per Jesus Christ’s Resurrection real, according to some scientists (Word Press, 5 April 2010), based on “modern particle physics,” such a resurrection… conceivably… occurred when Jesus’ body “dematerialized” from underneath the burial shroud in which its physical matter was converted into neutrinos and then “rematerialized” when outside… [likely initiated through interaction with anti-neutrinos that caused] the neutrinos [to revert] back into their previous form of matter and… when such… rematerialization took place… the process emitted an abundance of light (photonic energy)… corroborat[ing] biblical accounts of His “glorified” body mentioned in Philippians 3:21.

Digital Art created from three photos: Crescent Moon, Irvington, NY (3 August 2008), Minaret, Queens, NY (8 August 2014) and Tulip, Mamaroneck, NY (12 April 2021). The Minaret, the tallest point of a Mosque serves as the place where a muezzin makes the call for prayer based on the command from the Prophet Mohammad – “Rise, O Bilal, and summon to prayer!” The shape, form, and color of a minaret also serve as strong symbols in Islam. The “cuboid” structure represents stability and equality based on the Qu’ranic verses (Apartments 49:13) – “O mankind! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you nations and tribes that you may identify yourselves with one another,” (The Byzantines 30:22) “Among His signs is the creations of the heavens and the earth, and the difference of your languages and colors…” and (The Family of Imran 3:195) – “I will not lose sight of the labor of any of you who labors in My way, be it man or woman; each of you is equal to the other.” The geometric form of the minaret also represents Islamic belief that God created order (e.g. the laws of physics that govern the universes in which “the sun, the moon, the stars… follow an unalterable law and do not deviate even slightly from their ordained course” and “matter, energy and life… obey laws by which they must grow or change, live or die”) and everything in His creation has a significant place in His “grand scheme.” The roof or dome points towards the sky symbolizing the “gate from heaven and earth” that marks the transition from temporary to eternity” to remind people based on the Qu’ranic verse (The Forgiver 40:39) – “…the life of this world is nothing but a passing enjoyment and indeed, the Hereafter is the abiding home.” It is because of this Islam declares, “When we are reduced to bones and ashes, will we… be raised as a new creation? ‘Yes, even if you become stones, or iron, or whatever you think is harder to bring to life…’ Who will bring us back to life? ‘The One Who created you the first time.’” [Qu’ran: The Night Journey 17:49-51] The white color of the minaret symbolizes “God’s Pure Light,” the “source of existence” and eternity that derives from God’s great love based on the fact that in Islam, God is known as al-Wadud or "He who loves." "Religion is love and love is religion" -- Islam: Imam al-Baqir (676-733 CE) “The Eternal… made all things in [l]ove. On [l]ove they all depend.” [Islam: Farid ud Din Attar, 12th Century CE Sufi poet] Because of this, a key principle of Islam is peace (also symbolized by the white color of the minaret) based on the Prophet Mohammad’s noble and compassionate example when his troops conquered Mecca on 11 December 629. Despite the ill-treatment he had received and attempts on his life, he gave that city’s residents that chance to determine their own fate – “O Quraysh, what do you think of the treatment… I should accord you?” And they said, “Mercy, O Prophet of God. We expect nothing but good from you.” Thereupon Mohammad declared, “…This day there is no reproof against you; go your way, for you are free.” [1] “God created a hundred portions of mercy. He placed one portion between His creation [so] they [could] have compassion on each other…” [Islam: Saheeh Al-Bukhari, Saheeh Muslim, Al-Tirmidhi, et al.] In Islam, the crescent moon serves as a powerful symbol of God’s greatness while the color “blue” (al-azraq) represents “the impenetrable depths of the universe” and the mystical nature of God, the Creator. At the same time, the color “green” represents life and paradise – “As you look, you will see… bliss and a great kingdom. Upon them will be cloaks of green silk…” [Qu’ran: Man 76:20-21] “And among His signs is that you see the earth barren, but when We send down water on it, it is stirred to life and growth. Verily, He Who gives it life… is able to give life to the dead. Indeed! He is able to do all things.” [Qu’ran: Elaborated 41:39] In addition, in Islam, the tulip not only symbolizes beauty, perfection, and paradise, it also resembles a dome and represents the Muslim written name for God – “Allah.” Last the Arabic cursive to the left declares “Salam!” or “Peace!” since it is the primary attribute of Islam – “Allah guides all who seek to please Him to the ways of peace…” [Qu’ran: The Table 5:16]. It is also fitting since on this evening of 12 April 2021, Muslims around the world Muslims enter into Ramadan , a holy month of prayer and fasting. Wishing every Muslim the best for a peaceful and spiritually uplifting holy month. ________ [1] Conquest of Mecca. Wikipedia. 5 April 2021. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conquest_of_Mecca#:~:text=The%20conquest%20of%20Mecca%20(Arabic,Muhammad%20and%20the%20Quraysh%20tribe . Additional Source: Wan Athirah binti Wan Ahmad Kamal. The Significance of the Minaret as the Symbol of the Official Religion. University Teknologi MARA (UiTM). 8 April 2021. www.academia.edu/8661994/The_Significance_of_the_Minaret_as_the_Symbol_of_the_Official_Religion

Mamaroneck, NY Note: This abstract was created using discarded garbage and litter consisting of plastic debris, a rubber spacer ring, red foam heart, broken tiles and lima beans. When I created this work, I intended to break numerous rules, starting with the title Cela , inscribed on one of the broken tiles, which is derived from the French contraction Ce + là , which means “That.” In this case “That” is 1 John 4:8 and 16 – “God is Love.” Accordingly, the heart that represents God’s unconditional, unfailing and unending love based on Psalm 136:26: “Give thanks to God… for His steadfast love endures forever” was converted into a colorless heart because in reality His sacred heart is immaculate and pure and untarnished by even the slightest ill, evil and negativity, the black spacer ring that represents light and eternity maintained its color despite conventional views since black too as does every color, connotes brightness and goodness. The cross represents God’s great sacrifice that broke the chains of death while the widespread red represents God’s passion and love exhibited so clearly when He gave his life for each and every one of us and the power of the Holy Spirit that guides, inspires, purifies and sustains our existence – “And there appeared to them tongues as of fire…” [Acts 2:3] “to purify…” [Titus 2:14] and , based on Psalm 51:10 “create in [each of us] a clean heart." The faint wavy flows symbolize rebirth to eternity based on John 3:5 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” All of us are body (75% of water) and soul! The lima beans represent seeds of faith based on the parable found in Luke 17:5-6: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea’ and it will obey you” while the simplicity proclaims the words of Matthew 11:30 – “ [M] y yoke is easy and M y burden is light.” Finally, the face represents the blissful attainment of eternal life in the presence of God captured by Psalm 16:11: “In Your presence is fullness of joy.”

Mamaroneck, NY To every Jewish person, their family and friends, and people of goodwill of other faiths who embrace religious tolerance, may your hearts and homes be filled with peace, love, cheer and light during this Hanukkah season and always. Article: www.ipernity.com/blog/285927/4687350

Mamaroneck, NY

Larchmont, NY

Mamaroneck, NY