by Rosemary Luckett
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Exploring the image of Mary and Jesus that Rosemary Luckett grew up with led her to a
discovery of richly diverse images of Mary, other archetypal women, and the feminine face of
God. Like Marian icons from previous centuries, these cut paper collages reflect figures and faces
of women living at the time the pictures were made. By joining old images with the new, such as
ancient Byzantine pictures of Christ with contemporary women and children from all over the
world, the artist provides the viewer with multiple entry points into the pictures.
Traditional symbols of the bird, vessels, and angels are combined with the precisely cut photographic figures and small bits of lace or cloth. Each individual element in the collage retains its own identity, history and implications, at once contributory to and independent of the collage as a whole, thereby enriching the layered surface of the art work with multiple layers of meaning. |
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12x21x5 paper, lace, polychrome wood |
On the one hand, these collages call to mind the scriptural stories in which God interacts with
Mary and also the images of sacred motherhood made by artists throughout western history. Yet
these contemporary figures of women remind us that women of today are also called to be bearers
of Christ, to carry on the mission of Mary and Jesus in our own time.
By framing these paper collages in three dimensional "houses" or "shrines," the artist extends a
two-dimensional collage into three-dimensions. The shrines are references to medieval altar
panels, Hispanic niche boxes or domestic folk cabinets. They become vessels for the paper
images, in direct reference to Mary, who is vessel to the Holy Spirit and Jesus.
Rosemary Luckett has exhibited in many galleries and art centers throughout the country,
including the National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C.. She is a native of
Idaho, but has made her home in Virginia with her husband and three children.
WORKS ON DISPLAY | ||
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18x27x5 paper, polychrome wood
Mary Visits Elizabeth > |
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22x36x8 paper, polychrome wood
Mother of Us All >
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18x71 3/4x9 5/8 paper, lace, polychrome wood
Then and Now> |
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14x61x4 paper, polychrome wood, broom
Mary Takes Her Son from the Temple
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14«x21x3 1/2 paper, polychrome wood, metal
Gift Giver > |
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17 1/2x20 1/2x3 paper, ribbon, polychrome wood
Madonna with Beaded Hair > |
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24x33x8 paper, polychrome wood |
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15 1/2x23x6 1/2 paper, polychrome wood
Renew the Face of the Earth > |
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23 1/4x24x3 1/2 paper, polychrome wood
She Said "Yes," > |
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This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, was last Modified March 16, 2006 by Varun Gade. Please send any comments to ROTEN@data.lib.udayton.edu.