Rediscovering Christmas

 

Recreating the scene of Christ's birth is one of the most tender and enduring Christmas traditions. It has its origins in the middle ages, but came to bloom as popular culture only in the 17th - 18th centuries. Originally rooted in three centers (Naples; the Provence, France; and Southern Germany and Austria), nativity sets have spread all over the world, thanks not least, to missionary efforts. Contemporary culture, with its noted preference for the visual and tactile, seems to have rediscovered this form of popular religious art.

In late summer, of 1994, The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute at the University of Dayton began an earnest effort to collect various contemporary cultural expressions of the nativity scene. To date, the collection holds more than 950 crèches from many parts of the world, some of them on permanent display at The Marian Library Gallery. However, collecting and displaying is not an end in itself. The Marian Library uses its crèches to promote the study of culture and religion, and has set the following goals:

1. To show how strongly and permanently culture and religion influence and enrich each other.

2. To pinpoint some of the psychological and sociological implications of the Christmas tradition.

3. To highlight the aesthetic dimension of religious culture.

4. To make better known the meaning of the Christmas event.

Our trademark is to create a special setting for each of the sets highlighting their special cultural, symbolic and aesthetic values. Our Master crèche builder is Michel Forest, a Canadian artist of creative verve and exquisite taste.

The developments of The Marian Library's crèche collection was and is entirely based on the generous contributions of friends and donors, and is spearheaded by its committee of Crèches International. The collection has developed into an ongoing project which finds expression in academic research and courses.

This display pays special tribute to Marjorie Yefchak, longtime and dedicated soul of these exhibits.

The Nativity Exhibit 2002 at the Marian Library

Artists and Artisans from Many Countries

The bulk of this year’s exhibit at The Marian Library does not come from our own collection.

The thirty carefully crafted figures, artfully displayed on open vitrines by Michel Forest from part of the fine crèche collection of Jim and Emilia Govan of Arlington, Virginia.  Jim and his late wife collected Nativity sets for more than thirty years.  Their collection now holds more than 300 sets from over eighty countries.  Many of the Govan artifacts were specifically commissioned from artists in this country and abroad.  Jim Govan worked for thirty-four years with the U.S. Agency for International Development.  His work took him to many African  countries where he acquired the many magnificent sets which constitute the core of his collection.  Jim Govan is the present president of “Friends of the Crèche” (FOTC), an new and nationwide society for “those who love, own, and collect representations of the Nativity,” and want “to keep Christ’s birth central to Christmas celebrations.”

 


Jose Zamora
Puerto Rico
Clay


L. Garrett & O. Grant
Jamaica 
Wood


Unknown
A Mother and Two Children
Cuba
Paper-Maché


Guillermina Aguilar
Mexico (Oaxaca)
Clay


Unknown
Liberia
Wood 



Donna Weaver
USA
Resin


Unknown
Laos
Wood


Unknown
Honduras
Clay
 


Edvis Racevicius
Lithuania
Wood

 


Josef Stachura
USA
Wood

 


Bhodan Kosicki
 (Artist's Collection)
USA
White Oak


Unknown 
Mexico
Ceramic


Unknown
Peru
Clay


Unknown
Tanzania
Mpingo Wood


Alfredo Rodriquez
USA
Wood


Carmelia Rodrigues da Silva
Brazil
Clay


Zagarifumo
Swaziland
Wood


Sandra McKenzie Schmitt
USA
Clay


Ryzard Sek
Poland
Wood


Suwedi Bigula Tambo
Malawi
Wood


Unknown
Philippines
Wood


Frank Brito
USA
Wood


Findelkind, Carving
Austria
Wood


Hanneke & Les Ippisch
USA
Wood


Unknown
Marionettes


 


Unknown
Ivory Coast
Clay


Engelsen Family
Norway
Wood


Nell Murphy 
Wild Goose Studio
Ireland
Powdered Metal Resin


Janos Papp
Hungary
Clay


Jeni Babin
USA 
Clay

A Century Old Tradition

John Schnegg is a woodcarver in the classical crèche tradition of the Tirolean mountains and valleys.  There were woodcarvers in his family since the 18th century.   Schnegg specialty is what Tiroleans call Kastenkrippen or box crèches.  The crèche is built into a box closed on three sides.  This allows the artist to paint a special landscape, mainly snow covered mountains or oriental sceneries with palm trees and sand dunes.  A second advantage presented by this type of crèche is the lighting. Little lamps mounted inside the box create a special atmosphere of intimacy and warmth.  The manger scene as such is usually centered around and inside an important structure:  castle, barn or farmhouse.  In the pieces here shown, the “manger” varies according to culture:  imposing palace  ruins for the oriental crèche, a typical barn for the Canadian nativity, and the farmhouse  comprising habitat and stable for the Tirolean set. The figures are predominantly those of the Tirolean tradition:  angels at the manger and in the shepherd’s field, herds of sheep, farmhands and mountain people.  A very typical feature of the Tirolean crèche is the group of the three boy-kings or, in Germany, Sternsinger.  Dressed with crowns and pelerines, and carrying a star and baskets, they visit the homes of the villagers to serenade old and young with Christmas songs, and expect to be rewarded with candy and cookies, nuts and oranges.  The representation of the Holy Family is the traditional one, usually a clustered group of three, St. Joseph holding the lamp and Mary caring for the baby.  These unique sets are all hand carved and hand painted in the Tirolean tradition. 


Unknown
Zimbabwe
Wood


Unknown
Nepal
Clay


Unknown
Egypt
Clay


Wonders of Wood
John F. Weber
USA
From the Tyrolean Alps
John Schnegg
Canada

 
In Deep Winter
John Schnegg
Canada


As It Was in the Beginning
 John Schnegg
 Austria – Canada


Oriental Nativity
John Schnegg
Canada


The Jar That Was a Mountain
Spain
Unknown

The Stuff of the Manger

The Christ child was wrapped by his mother Mary in swaddling clothes.  She laid him in a manger because there was no room in the inn.  Tradition holds that the manger was covered with a bed of straw.  Straw became the symbol of poverty and simplicity.  Jesus became one of us and took a special liking to the “straw people,” that is the marginal, the downtrodden, and homeless of all walks of life.   

Straw is the stuff of the manger.  In this year’s Christmas exhibit, straw is a reminder of the origins of Christ’s life on earth.  Straw is the stuff in the straw creations of Marian Paskowicz:  a series of Madonnas, some Nativity representations, and as an especially meaningful ingredient a straw representation of the Nativity Church in Bethlehem.  Pieces of straw  – straw only! and a razor blade take the place of paint and brush in the hands of Marian Paskowicz of Norristown, PA.  Working with straw "demands art ability, manual dexterity, and patience," says Marian Paskowicz.  To produce the shadings requested by the subject the artist uses oat, rye, wheat, millet, and barley straw.  This art form is well known in Poland, the artist’s country of origin.  Marian Paskowicz came to this country in 1960, and began doing straw art at the age of 16.

 

 

Crèches International at the Dayton Art Institute 2002

This is the third year The Marian Library exhibits the Crèches at the Dayton Art Institute.  All of the nativity sets are new; they were never before exhibited.  Their setting is due to the masterful hand of Michel Forest.

 


Magic Carpet
J. T. Richards/S. Penfield
USA


A Different Nativity
A. L. Quiñones
Puerto Rico
H. Mendivil
Peru(Cuzco)


The Show Must Go On
A. Camarro
Mexico
Paper-Maché


Sun, Peppers and Snow
Jil Gurule
USA
Painted Clay

 


From the Earth
 Eddie Walker
USA
Resin, Painted


Feast of Upright People
G. Tassou
Burkina Faso
Yellow Metal


Shelter Seeking
H. Störinger
Austria
Wood, Carved and Painted


A Reminder
J. White
USA
Polymer


Each Bringing a Gift
Trina Paulus
USA
Stoneware


Fragile Majesties
Amos Tay
Singapore
Pâte d'encens


The Message of the Star
Jan Skora
Poland
Wood, Carved and Painted



The Mighty Hand
A. L. Quiñones
Puerto Rico
Painted Wood


Valhall in a Tree Stump
A. Oelger
Iceland
Wood, Carved


A Wonderful Exchange?
Tilde Biner
Switzerland
Raku


High-level Conversation
J. M. Ojeda
Mexico (Oaxaca)
Painted Wood


Eternal Spring
L. Dos Santos
Paraguay
Ceramic

 


Romanesque Denim
Rose-Anne Monna
Canada
Ceramic


A Precious Moment
W. Biel
USA
Porcelain


Sheep, Sheep
A. Rabanal
Guatemala
Painted Clay


"Let the Light Shine Through"
M. Field
USA
Glass


Matter Matters
G. Serra
Sardinia
Feulae (giant fennel)

 
A Still, Small Voice
T. Acuna
Peru (Andes)
Painted Clay


One Message,
Many Traditions
J. Rejman
Czech Republic
Wood, Carved


Diverse But One
F. Evangel
USA
Wood and Resin


First Experiences
 Pipka
USA
Polymer


Hands and Feet
A. Jemenez
Columbia
Clay

 
Of Single Mind
Don Smith
USA
Raku


Enshrined Memories?
Unknown Artist
Mexico (Guerrero)
Lacquer Ware


Joy of the Moment
Y. Jashir
Palestine
Fabric


Mariachi Nativity
Unknown Artist
Mexico (Jalisco)
Brass

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This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by Kris Sommers was last modified Monday, 05/12/2008 12:08:16 EDT by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.

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