“The icon & the Iconic” at St. Ignatius Church

Father James Blaettler talks about icons

Saint Nicolas, The Miracle Worker (c. 19th century)
Russia, bronze with enamel, 9”x10”

Old and modern icons

Saint Catherine by D. Papadopoulos
Greece, 20”x14”

by Ekaterina Levina



The exhibit “The icon & the Iconic” brought back my childhood memories. One of my grandmothers was a devoted Orthodox Christian. I remember her praying in the front of icons in a red corner (right corner of the house) since, well... I remember myself.
The icons were dark, very old, the faces of saints were wise, serene and otherworldly.
I remember my grandmother praying to St. Nicolas for all her children traveling somewhere in the world. A thin wax candle was flickering in front of St. Anna, a silver cross, other saints – I don't remember who they were. Unfortunately, all these beautiful icons burned with the house a few years after my grandmother died. All, but one, which was given to my aunt when she got married. I didn't get a chance to inherit anything except my grandmother's intuition.

When I was looking at 17-18 century icons and crosses at the exhibit, I remembered a serene and illuminated face of my grandmother whispering words from a book of prayers. The book was heavy with an old lather cover and written in old style language decorated with red and gold ornaments. For me, when I was a kid, all those religious symbols were beautiful and mysterious objects, they were so different from everything around.

This icon exhibit at St. Ignatius Church features traditional Christian icons (from Russia, Greece, Bulgaria and Ethiopia) as well as iconic works by contemporary artists such as Andy Warhol.

A few beautiful old and contemporary icons were landed to the exhibit by families who knew Father James Blaettlet. I guess that the church (this one is a Jesuit Parish ) is one of the greatest networking systems in the world.

A lady from my art history class organized a tour for our class. Father James gave us an insightful 1,5 hour lecture about icons and art works at the exhibit. There are 69 traditional icons and icon interpretations at the exhibit.
Look up at the dome, and you'll see a pair of angel wings spread over you. A video installation shows people making a snow angel.
A bell “St. Nicolas Shadow” tolls every hour for civilian people who were killed in Iraq on that day.

Last chance to see this beautiful exhibit is Sunday, June 7, 2-5 pm.
Manresa Gallery, St. Ignatius Church
650 Parker Avenue, CA 94118