An Indigenous Artist & a Stained Glass Window

 

Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.  And all ate and were filled, and they took up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve baskets full.

                                             Matthew 14:19-20 NRSVue

I was surprised when this image of a stained glass window popped up on social media and I wanted to know more. Why an owl, maybe a snow owl,  and a fish that looked like a salmon? Ive seen some of the oldest stained glass in the world in Canterbury Cathedral, with certain windows created more than 800 years ago. Those medieval and older windows in churches were often biblical stories for pre-literate people.

While I appreciate stained glass windows,   I resisted the suggestion to put stained glass in one church I served because the view was onto a lovely downtown park. Why would we spend a ton of money to block this perspective on Creation? 

I did some snooping and discovered this: 

In 2004, Kenojuak Ashevak designed a stained glass window for a chapel at Appleby College in Oakville, Ontario. The window, of an Arctic char along with an owl against a vibrantly blue background, is the first such window made by an Inuit artist; it was suggested by two Biblical stories in which Jesus feeds a large crowd of people with two fish and a few loaves of bread, which for Kenojuak thoroughly embodied the spirit of the Inuit community, where food is always shared. The window was dedicated by the Rt. Rev. Andrew Atagotaaluk, Bishop of the Arctic, on November 9, 2004, celebrating the 75th anniversary of John Bell Chapel.

I then put two and two together and came up with...more than two. Decades ago a Kenojuak Ashevak image was used on a Canadian stamp, although I don't see her name. And in 2018 we took in a wonderful exhibit at the Art Gallery of Ontario called TUNIRRUSIANGIT: KENOJUAK ASHEVAK AND TIM PITSIULAK.  Pitsiulak was her nephew and I was enchanted by his work as well. Sadly, both have gone to their reward.

There are lots of European-style stained glass windows in churches across the country. Lots of them are forgettable, and as closed church buildings are repurposed or demolished the glass is often put into storage, likely permanently, or destroyed. 

We can celebrate the originality of this window which honours Indigenous gifts and imagery while connecting in a fresh way to one of the most familiar biblical stories. Even better that it is a miracle story of abundance. Long may Kenojuak Ashevak's window have a place of honour. 

Oh yes, after looking for a snowy owl without success on Amherst Island this past Friday we saw two flying out of the large Belleville cemetery on Sunday as we returned from worship. 

                          Inuit artist and sculptor Kenojuak Ashevak displays two of her artworks in 1980. 

                                                                 LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA