The inspiring art installed at Easter in the St. Mark’s Chancel is called Mourning Light by The Rev. Lisle Gwynn Garrity of A Sanctified Art. She writes of her striking image of light bursting from the cross:
I typically avoid painting the cross. It’s a symbol that’s been sanitized, commercialized, and too often branded as self-righteousness and personal victory. We often forget that it was a symbol of graphic terror, a weapon of capital punishment designed to eradicate anyone threatening the ways of empire and power. It’s the equivalent of an electric chair or lynching tree. However, in this piece, I pushed myself to render this symbol with color, texture, and imagination. In doing so, I remembered that for many, the cross is a powerful image of hope, liberation, and love. Who am I to define what a symbol means or limit its scope and power? In this image, I hope I was able to capture some of the beauty and brutality of this ancient weapon-of-terror-turned-tree-of-life.
