AFTERLIFE
When we think of our mortality, sometimes the most difficult part is not dying, but considering what happens after death. Depending on our religious views and culture, the afterlife can be many different things: sleeping for a thousand years until we are resurrected, being immediately sent to a heaven or hell, becoming reincarnated, or ceasing existence altogether. For each of us, life after death is a belief that begins here and now and continues on after this life. It helps to inform our life choices and can give us hope.
How do you imagine life after death?
How do you imagine life after death?
NATE BRIMHALL
Infinite’S OM 2019
metal
Courtesy of the Artist
This piece was an interactive work where viewers were encouraged to move through and engage with the metal. As they touched, sang, tapped, or chanted inside, they could feel the resonance from the piece. Imagine interacting with this piece spatially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically.
How does the act of walking through this piece symbolize death or birth?
How does this piece help you connect to yourself?
MARION HAWS
Upward Reach 2001
metal
Gift from Wassmer and Steed
FRANZ MARK JOHANSEN
Veil Series 1986
oil on board
Gift from David & Ingrid Nemelka, in memory of Ruth Hubold Nemelka
This painting portrays the religious idea of the veil that hangs between our present mortality and the afterlife to come. With a single figure on each side of the veil, the artist presents the notion that those who have already passed to the other side are there to help those who are still in mortality, somewhat like guardian angels.
Who are your guardian angels? Are they living or have they passed on?
CHRISTIAN DEGN PETERSEN
The Lovers 2018
ink on paper
Courtesy of Private Collection
Petersen gives us a glimpse of an afterlife that is beautiful and peaceful. Look at the details of this piece—can you imagine these figures in the mortal world? As we imagine our own life after death, do we think about who is there with us?
What elements of this piece would you like in your afterlife?
WULF ERICH BARSCH
Within the Shadows of the Everlasting Hills: In the Valley of the Sun & Moon 2000
oil on canvas
Gift from Vern G. and Judy N. Swanson
The artist proposes a culmination of faith, heritage, imagination, and contemporary life be displayed through the use of abstract and geometric designs to emphasize spiritual themes. His use of sacred geometry—the proportions of the universe—dates back to ancient times and reflects the eternal order of nature itself.
What mystical or spiritual themes can you find in this work?
How do you imagine the landscape of the afterlife?
GARY ERNEST SMITH
Degrees of Glory 1965
oil on canvas
Gift from James C. and Carol Christensen
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ELAINE S. MICHELSEN EVANS The Upward Spiral: The Key to Life Reveals the Trinity of the Soul 1947 pastel Gift from Eric Oberg, New York City ELAINE S. MICHELSEN EVANS The Sun and the Circle 1947 pastel Gift from Eric Oberg, New York City |
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MEGAN KNOBLOCH GEILMAN
Exaltare 2019
digital collage on giclee canvas
Courtesy of the Artist
To be exalted is to be placed at a high or powerful level. The Japanese art of Kintsugi uses this concept by repairing broken pottery with gold, highlighting the scars but also creating something more beautiful than the original. As we move from this life to the next, the broken or imperfect parts of us can be exalted to a better version of ourselves. Through symbolism and imagery, this work captures the pageantry and regalia that is often associated with the afterlife.
What other symbols can you find in this work?
How can the process of Kintsugi relate to your life?
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