ART SCENE: Christina Saj's "Remembering Myth" (12/07/97)

ART SCENE

Christina Saj's "Remembering Myth"

by Olha Shevchenko

MONTCLAIR, N.J. - In an exhibition titled "Remembering Myth," held here at the Midland Gallery on September 6 - October 3, painter Christina Saj made a personal visual statement about her belief in the importance of myth and ritual in modern society.

Ms. Saj, whose artistic philosophy is rooted in the Byzantine tradition of icon-painting, has not chosen this theme with the intention of simply illustrating myths from a variety of ancient or primitive cultures for their own sake - rather, something universal is being sought through their exploration. The realization that all cultures are involved in the search for spiritual meaning in human existence has led Ms. Saj to move beyond her habitual parameters of the Christian belief system in her work.

The paintings in her most recent exhibition can be divided into three categories: the first features Christian themes, the second deals with the Greco-Roman mythological tradition, and the third encompasses paintings that depict generic myths and myths belonging to other cultures, as well as broad spiritual concepts.

Christian subjects take on the quality of myth insofar as they seek to explain mysteries that are basic to the experience of all mankind. For example, the well-known story of original sin offers a Christian explanation for mankind's suffering on earth. Ms. Saj deals with this subject in a work titled "Adam and Eve." The ancient Greek explanation for the presence of suffering among men is the subject of another painting called "Pandora's Box." Within the context of the pursuit of a universal spiritual consciousness, these paintings, and the stories on which they are based, take on a modified significance. It is not important that one is Christian and the other ancient Greek, but that they are parallel examples of universal wonder about the origins of man and woman and the reasons for the existence of suffering on earth.

Much of our knowledge regarding classical mythology comes to us in the form of epic poetry widely accepted to be the work of Homer. Ms. Saj pays tribute to him in an elegant, shimmering composition painted on steel in shades of green, blue and silver titled "Homerus - The Bard." An abstract faceless "portrait" of the poet occupies the upper left corner of the painting, while disembodied hands reach up from the lower right towards a radiating orb. The enigmatic setting seems to mythologize the very existence of the poet.

We are quite accustomed to personified, usually idealized, visual images of Greek and Roman gods that have come to us by way of the ancients themselves. Favoring abstraction, Ms. Saj diverges significantly from established images of the gods in order to include them in her vision of universal mythological symbolism. Such works as "Apollo," "Poseidon" and "Vulcan" are frontal, abstract, monumental, faceless representations of the gods conceived in a fashion similar to the manner in which the artist creates icons. Like icons, these paintings are meant to be experienced as spiritual objects, a means to enter the mythological world they represent.

"Green Goddess" is a painting that refers to a generic goddess invented by the artist to evoke the concept of Mother Earth. The figure has been conceived in terms of basic geometric shapes - a circular form resting upon two thin vertical rectangular elements - and has been placed against a colorful decorative background. The circle is surrounded by a shimmering gold aureole, a device used by Ms. Saj to lend her imagined goddess an air of consecrated authority and link her with the custom of using halos to connote power or holiness shared by both Christian and ancient Greco-Roman traditions.

The circle is a symbol that is present in many of Ms. Saj's paintings, either incidentally or as the focus of a composition, as in the work "Magic Circles." This is not surprising, as the circle is considered to be one of the great primordial images of mankind and a very powerful universal spiritual symbol.

The topic of shamanism, the most ancient of mankind's religions, is a natural diversion from the subject of magic. Shamans are best known for their supernatural ability to heal, in which capacity they are sometimes referred to as "medicine men." "The Dance of the Shaman," humorously subtitled "Tango," symbolically represents the ritual that enacts the shamanistic myth. In this painting Ms. Saj depicts the dance as a tango performed by two bone-like elements, a symbol that recurs in several other works in this collection.

Ms. Saj's intention in presenting her paintings as a coherent body of work is to emphasize the parallels and overlap between religions and cultures of the world. By looking back at ancient times and primitive peoples through the vehicle of mythology, one moves closer to a recognition of what is basic to our existence. By rendering the paintings in a modern visual vocabulary, and employing innovative materials such as industrial glass and steel plates mounted on magnets, Ms. Saj emphasizes the persistent significance of these issues for mankind in the 20th century and beyond.

Further information about Christina Saj's most recent exhibition, as well as previous exhibitions, can be found online at http://www.artonline.net. The artist also welcomes inquires and comments by e-mail at [email protected]. Studio visits can be arranged by appointment.

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