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SANTOS
- George Krause,
2000 -
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small village churches I've witnessed men and
women cry and plead with a figure of Christ or
read a love letter to the Virgin of Hope. The
santos robes are covered with the photographs of
their sick and dying loved ones. Often the heads
of these figures are covered with wigs of real
hair and have eyes of hand blown glass. The
parishioners regard these statues as alive and
able to hear and answer their prayers. These
sculptures were mostly carved by anonymous
artists/artisans in wood and then polychromed in
the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many
are fairly recent additions to the more ancient
churches they now inhabit and as these
structures are restored to their pristine state
some santos are disappearing. I find many of
these figures to be among the most powerful and
beautiful works of art ever created.
The modern
religious statues found in most churches today
strike me as sad rip-offs of great contemporary
artists and sculptors such as Alberto Giacometti
and Henry Moore. These drippy crucifixions and
pseudo abstractions do not allow the average
parishioner a chance to transcend into the
spiritual world. And so I have decided to see if
I can re-invent the art of the santos using some
of the ideas and techniques of the past. Here
are a few of my recent attempts.
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Click
to view the santos>>
all
photography george krause © 1961-2000
www.georgekrause.com
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