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| Original Nativity Scen by Ralph Yeager Roberts, 2008-2011 |
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| The Holy Family from Original Nativity Scene by Ralph Yeager Roberts, 2008-20111 |
I was happy to unveil a nativity scene I started making just over three years ago. I do not maintain a consistant pace but work rather eppisodically durring waves of creative fitfulness. Life has also been turbulant often forbidding my personal artistic pursuits. And while I do not wish to suggest that my final product represents so many months and years of steady industry I would say that working over such a span my opertunities to question, play, research, and wonder on the story I hoped to tell. At this time I only wish to tease out a couple of distinctive elements in my manger scene which begin to define and frame the possibilities and likelihoods in the Christmas stories. It is these verry possibilities which whispered inspiration to me at the advent of my work and which haves simultaneously emerged out of the work.
I simply invite the viewer to enjoy some images of the final work which I have posted along with this entry. First notice that the creche or building used to focus and unite the many different figures and objects is not a stable but is meant to represent a house or even a guest house of sorts. The scene is of the visitation of the wise men or magi as recorded in the book of Matthew. The evangelist says nothing of a stable or manger and clearly these visitors arrive some time after Jesus birth since we are told that they follow a star which appeared when the child was first born. Furthermore Herod's orders to kill all newborn males up thorough two years old provides a clue that we are really no longer dealing with a nativity story in the strictest scene. Matthew specifically says that the come to the house where the child was living.
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| Close up of Original Nativity Scene by Ralph Yeager Roberts, 2008-2011 |
In addition to noticing the the absence of a barnyard managery, stalls, and the manger or feed trough employed as a cradle observe the decorative wood work included, a well stocked roman style library, dining couch, writing desk, writing tablet, and other signs of comfort and some degree of wealth. Complimenting this difference from what is normally presented in a nativity scene Mary is dressed very much like a roman woman, wearing the Hellenized clothing as Jews of means or living in places other than Palestine would presumably have done. Granted the scene and building are great departures from anything approaching historical accuracy and are decidedly stylized to help stage a scene there is an attention to historical and cultural realities I sought to include in order to provoke new or at least less familiar possibilities for understanding the Christmas story and the nature of Jesus and of Christ.
For now I simply encourage consideration of 1) the location of this scene in a comfortable home to a family with modest means and 2) that the home while sporting eastern elements like domes, arches, and a somewhat haphazard floor plan, also contains furnishings, tools, and people touched by Hellenistic influences and values. With those two departures from the usual holiday manger scene enjoy and consider the people as they are positioned and presented within this moment in which the visitors having finished a meal served to them are presenting the costly treasures they have brought to bestow on the child and his parents.
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| Original Nativity Scene by Ralph Yeager Roberts, 2008-2011 |
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