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WAYNE FORTE - LITURGICAL ART FORMS
California artist Wayne Forte uses oil on canvas with found objects to convey a sense of the sacred, styled as liturgical banners.
Come see why Wayne's work is finding its way into the collections of prominent Californians such as Fess Parker, Sally Struthers, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
This show appeared from early October through Thanksgiving, 2007. |
 A few samples of the show's two dozen works:
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THE PRESENT (FOR MARY) 2003
65” X 36”
oil on canvas with fiber tassels
This banner commemorates the dedication of Jesus, the first-born, in the Temple. Following the birth of a son, the mother had to wait 40 days before going to the Temple to offer sacrifice for her purification. If she could not afford a lamb and a pigeon (or a dove) then two pigeons or doves would be acceptable. The Holy Spirit had revealed to Simeon, a righteous and devout man, that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. |
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SABBATH BANNER, 2004
54” x 35”
oil on canvas with various watches
This banner celebrates the Sabbath which, for the New Testament believer, is Christ. It is in him that we rest and delight. We are exhorted to “taste and see that the Lord is good,” directing all our senses to him. The label echoes Christ’s own exhortation, “[that] the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath (Mk 2:27).”
Many banners have decorative fringes at the bottom edge which recall the tzitzits on prayer shawls (tallits). Tzitzits serve to remind the wearer of the commandments and his obligation to obey the law. Here I have substituted watches for the fringes or tzitzits to remind the New Testament believer not only that “…if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law” but also that “…now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation (2Cor 6:2).”
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PARALYTIC’S PALLET #1, 2005
83” x 42”
oil and acrylic on canvas
This banner is a visualization of my reading (lectio divina) about the paralytic spoken of in John 5. He needed a physical healing, not the law. So when he found a scroll of the law he fashioned it into a pallet, or cot, so that he could be carried to the pool at Bethesda where it was rumored that one could receive physical healing when “an angel stirred the waters.” After 38 years of visiting the pool daily, he happened to meet Jesus there and was healed. Jesus told him, “Arise, take up your pallet and walk.” Jesus was using the carrying of the pallet to draw the Jews into a theological discussion. But I wondered if Jesus wasn’t also acknowledging his initiative and perseverance. I wondered what the invalid did with the dirty old pallet when he got it home. I imagined what I might do in his place after such a miraculous event---turn it into a banner of love.
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THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF MAN, 2007
50” x 46”
oil and acrylic in linen
The idea for this banner came to me in a flash when I pulled a dirty, ripped piece of linen out of the bottom of a drawer. All I needed to do was to label it. I couldn’t resist adding some trompe l’oeil houseflies and making some half-hearted attempts at mending the rips. Sometimes everything just falls into place.
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