Painting Interpretation

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Recommended: Laustic religious imagery

Recently at the San Diego Museum of photographic arts in balboa park, there was an exhibition of Steve McCurry’s, the national geographic photographer who took the famous picture “Afghan Girl”, on his photo tour of Asia. It chronicled in splendid detail everything from India, and the most holy places in the Sikh religion, to Tibet and to the traditions inherent in the daily lives Afghani bakers. The titles and the explanatory text blobs dotting the walls told a story of deep spiritualism and introspection in the name of religion. The pieces all reflected on different religions but the theme remained and painted Asia as a place full of devout individuals who have found purpose in their respective theologies. Among these images of brooding eyes, silent prayer and reflection fell a comical image. It showed a young Uzbekistani boy holding a cigarette to the mouth of a statue; the statue of a Buddhist spiritual guru.
The image was funny. A burning Marlboro at the smiling stone lips of a 700 year old priest was funny. But the question I posed was why. If humor is the human reaction to the uncomfortable, the awkward or the indecent, what about this image made my friend and I laugh. The answer lied in its comparison. It juxtaposed a devout spiritualism with commercialization and addiction. Both things thought to be in stark contrast with the enlightenment that is supposed to be revealed to all sons and daughters of religion and especially the followers of Buddha.
This image struck a chord with me, even though I am not religious, and have taken resentment to the current upswing in the inquisition like militancy that is now a part of the Christian faith in America, I have grown up in a religious society, a Christian society. My morals are based on Christian interpretations of right and wrong fore we both live in a country founded on such beliefs, and are now immersed in them. This image of comparison stuck with me because, our society is full of such paradoxical situations. Christian doctrine dictates the negative outcomes of addiction, and guffaws at commercialism as an offshoot of materialism and greed, which is a mortal sin. But despite these things the world and America in particular are in a struggle hold with people’s desire for material wealth on one side and the planet’s well being and the world’s religious quest for balance in all life on the other.

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