And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
I Kings 19:9-12 King James Version
Our other major stop during our Toronto weekend was actually outside the city in Kleinberg, home to the McMichael Gallery. The Big Smoke has crept north over the decades and farm fields are now home to huge houses on tiny lots. Yet the grounds of the McMichael have maintained their character since Signe and Robert McMichael built their home 70 years ago and filled it with Canadian art. That building is now incorporated in a wonderful facility and the collection is much more diverse with an excellent representation of Indigenous artworks. We still appreciate the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson, and Emily Carr, but there is so much more.
We really enjoy experiencing exhibitions of work by artists we've never heard of and the stimulation this offers. On Saturday it was the extensive offering of paintings and prints by Bertram Brooker, a contemporary of the Group of Seven who ventured into abstraction.
At the conclusion of our stroll through his varied and fascinating artistic output we came upon a series of prints from a hundred years ago based on the biblical story of Elijah in 1 & 2 Kings. The prophet Elijah challenged the corrupt King Ahab and his wife, Jezebel. Even though he was faithful to God he was forced to flee into the wilderness, fed by ravens along the way (it does sound unsanitary!) and then experiencing the Creator on a mountain, not in the storm but in the silence. I've included several of the photos I took. I've included the King James Version text because that was the inspiration for Brooker's series. Apologies for the reflection of a light in some of the photographs.
6 comments:
It is interesting to note that in Elijah's time, as in Christ's time, the Chosen People did not want to hear the message from God - and we know the result of that ! And today???
Love Brooker's work. I spent 6 months on Brooker way back - major paper on him and the opening up of new art in Canada. His work took so many paths.
Do you know what his ancestry is? My maiden name was Brooker... it is not a common name.
He was born in the UK
Interesting that you not only know of Brooker, Laurie, you've done in-depth study. You'll be aware of the variety of styles he employed over the course of his lifetime.
Judy, I suppose that prophets are rarely welcomed in any age because they challenge the status quo for abused power, politics, as well as false religion.
Laurie,thanks for responding to Judy's question because I wouldn't have a clue! You may be related, Judy.
My Brooker ancestors were also born in the UK...but I did not inherit the artistic gene !
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