Gallery · Acrylic on canvas · 2017

Blessed or Cursed

a question on the responsibility of being chosen

Blessed or Cursed, acrylic on canvas, 2017

About Blessed or Cursed

This whimsical painting embraces primitive stylings to innocently capture the biblical iconic narrative of the Master Prophet Moses issuing warnings for potential blessings and doom. These foreboding admonitions were bonded to the Children of Israel before Moses's passing. This symbolizes the end of an incubation era of nationhood: an environment where miracles and wonders and interventional consequence were commonplace. Tradition relates that the nascent nation was commonly composed of priests and prophets. However, this young culture emerged out of an unnatural environment where the face of Divinity was sprouting with perpetual revelation.

To spiritually mature, the Children of Israel were destined to be tempered for true faith by entering an environment where wickedness has a chance to flourish and the cruel and calculated can oppress the weak. This painting represents a gateway for the covenant nation to be tempered by True Faith into a nation that chose to be chosen.

In light of the litany of tragedies that embroiled innocence over the course of greater history, this episode meditatively poses to the viewer a poignant question: What are the responsibilities of being chosen, and are these truly a blessing or a curse?

© Brian Baruch. All rights reserved.