INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST GRACE CAROL BOMER

 

One Who Came of The Waters of TIme by Grace Carol Bomer

JR: Welcome to my blog, Grace. Let me start off by asking how you came to Christ and how you became interested in art? Do you have any heroes and/or influences among artists and in your Christian faith? 

GB: Raised by Dutch pioneers who immigrated to Neerlandia, Alberta Canada (1911) to start a Christian (Reformed) farming community, I was catechized early on in the Biblical faith of the Reformation. (You may recall that Holland's Prime Minister from 1901-05 was Abraham Kuyper, who was also a theologian and journalist. He is famous for the phrase, "there is not one square inch of this world that God does not declare, "Mine!")  All of life, including the arts, is governed by a sovereign Creator. I make public profession of my faith in Jesus Christ after my second year at Dordt College. This liberal arts Christian college (now Dordt University) was very instrumental in solidifying my already planted faith. My World Literature professor from Yale introduced me to great literature which attempts to understand the human condition and deal with the "Christ-figure." The Incarnation is central to history. and this Biblical truth plays an important role in my work today as a painter. 

Dordt College at that time had no Art department except one course for Elementary Education, so I dropped out after my second year because I was unable to pursue an art degree at Dordt. I enrolled in the University of Alberta, and two weeks before classes began, I reread an assignment I had to write at Dordt called "The Purpose of Christian Education." God convicted me. I returned to Dordt where I got my degree in Secondary Education (English Major/History Minor), and even managed to attend a neighboring college where I took two art courses.  

My heroes in art did not develop until after college. I taught 9th-10th grade art as well as sixth grade and made my students study the entire history of art. I used Francis Schaeffer's How Then Shall We Now Live and Art and The Bible, and Rookmaaker's Modern Art and the Death of the Culture to hone their critical skills. Much later when I was already painting, I wrote monthly critical art reviews of most major artists (including modern artists) for my husband's weekly publication, It's God's World News. I was also studying art at UNC Asheville at that time so I was exposed to many artists and styles. 

JR: How important is worldview in art? How does worldview enter in art (including yours)? Do the genres of art reflect a worldview consistently, or can one use any form for God's glory? 

GB: As you can guess, a biblical world view is the reason I paint and teach and live! One of my contemporary influences is German artist, Anselm Kiefer. His work understands the human condition well and he questions evil in the world. His answers are not biblical or life-giving. He does not have a biblical world-view. His installation piece called "Palm Sunday" is a huge dead palm tree lying across the museum floor, He believes the artist is the mediator between heaven and earth. Not unlike Matisse who is said to have claimed, "I am God."

However Christians can take any form of creativity and use it to glorify God and display a biblical view. I believe Christians are called to "test the spirits of the age. While at UNCAsheville I created an installation, called "Be Lifted Up O Ancient Doors/Everlasting Doors." (See right.) Six door jams with "blood" on their lintels were hung in ascending heights from the ceiling leading to a final large painting on three doors. This painting is of "heaven" and the King of Glory. http://carolbomer.com/gallery.cfm?ID=20 

My use of abstraction, which truly is not well appreciated by many Christians, can be very powerful when painting the unseen reality of faith. I blend realism and abstraction as well as words (the Word) to point to the God who is Spirit and flesh and Word and Image. Because I incorporate realism it helps the viewer understand the painting. 

JR: Speaking of world-view, how do non-Christians - whether fellow-artists or just normal people - react to your art? Have they opened the door to you sharing your faith? 

GB: My work is well received not only by fellow artists but also the general public. I have a studio where I meet many visitors. Because my work is abstraction blended with realism, it encourages the use of one's imagination. I allows the viewer, whether they are Christian or not, to "see" invisible realities!  Words are always helpful but, I  want viewers to discover the meaning of the painting.
Jesus spoke in parables. Those with eyes to see will see. He also used metaphors like I am the good shepherd, the door, the pearl of great price when speaking about the kingdom of God.   

JR: I noticed on your web-page that you have done commissions like "Believe," (see left) "Taste and See," and "The Fisherman." For those not familiar with being an artist, what is a commission? How do these come about? Are there differences between doing a commission and your other work?

GB: Commissions come about because someone is familiar with my work. They may have discovered it on my website. Commissions require that the artist creates an artwork that a client envisions. 

One of my biggest commissions happened because clients "googled" Christian artist. They contacted me and we talked about their desire for a painting about "The Wedding Feast at Cana/ Water into Wine" for their wine cellar and then an even larger piece, "The Fisherman," (see right) for their living room. They wanted artwork that would begin conversations about the gospel.

The same can be said of "Believe" and "Taste and See." I worked closely with each client, making mock-ups of size and colors. Commissioned pieces require more work, but are always a great pleasure for me as well as a challenge.

JR: I first met you over twenty years ago. Needless to say, a lot has happened since, including two presidents being elected in spite of losing the popular vote, not to mention 9-11 and COVID-19 and the basic worldview of this country shifting. How have these changes affected you and your art? 

GB: As you already know I am a history minor so politics interests me a lot. I also taught the book of Revelation several times so I know how the story ends 😉. I highly recommend the little 1926 volume called, The Drama of Christianity by S.L. Morris. 

In these tumultuous times, my Babel Series (https://gracecarolbomer.com/fine-art-word-image-babel/) has become quite relevant, although I have

painted politically relevant paintings long ago. ("Babylon Burning" from the series on left.) I showed two paintings dealing with the issue of abortion at the Paul VI Institute for Art in DC in the early 90s and was also part of ART-FE in Madrid's in 2011 with the Catholic World Youth Rally there.

During the "lock-down" I painted a huge canvas called "Your Days Are Numbered," aka "The Fall of the Republic." You can read about it on my blog (which you can locate on my website. (https://gracecarolbomer.com/blog-sample/) This painting along with 20 other

paintings were shown at Cairn University in Langhorne, PA for the 2021 fall semester where I also spoke to the students about the antithetical battle for truth. Much discernment is needed today in our culture of manipulated words and relative truth. 

I did not close my studio during COVID and our gals' Bible study met in spite of the "lockdown." In fact, art-wise, 2021, was my best year ever! I had both virtual (thanks to COVID) exhibits and in person exhibits! The AZUR Gallery show in Madrid, Spain happened and the virtual show was actually better for advertising. You can still see the six paintings on Artsy's website. (https://www.artsy.net/artwork/grace-carol-bomer-the-crossing). 

I also exhibited and spoke at All Saints Presbyterian in Austin, Texas in conjunction with the Christians In the Visual Arts (CIVA) conference (Nov.4-6, 2021). Because of COVID more curators and galleries were on-line. I was contacted by an Asian Art Dealer in New York City who facilitated the purchase of four paintings for a South Korean client for a new art center/museum in Yongin. (southwest of Seoul). Note from Jeff: "One Who Came of The Waters of Time", pictured above, is part of this collection.

JR: Thank you for your time. Any exhibitions coming up? How can we keep up with your art and what is new with you?

GB: Because of travel restrictions and COVID issues, I have focused this year on monetizing my workshops. (My first workshop is still in process but will be available on my website soon. Stay tuned.) You can visit me at my Asheville studio gallery on 170 Lyman Street - in Asheville's River Arts District - where my work is always available. Also, visit my website at www.gracecarolbomer.com.

Below is the YouTube video "'Painting Grace' Asheville Artist Grace Carol Bomer" done by a pair of UNCAshville students that Bomer shared with me.