A touch of healing: Paintings by Ben Frank Moss celebrate the human spirit with vivacious brushwork and swaths of rich colors. Spirit States is on exhibit at the Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Gallery through Oct. 18.
By: Susan Van Dongen
The acts of violence in New York and Washington have bruised the nation’s collective heart and soul. The horror and cruelty almost goes beyond the scope of the imagination. People are angry, confused, hurt and frightened, wondering what to do with these feelings.
One place to take a refreshing break from the tragedy and find a much-needed touch of healing is the Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Gallery, where paintings by Ben Frank Moss celebrate the human spirit with vivacious brushwork and swaths of rich colors. The exhibit, Spirit States, opens the gallery’s 2001-2002 season and runs through Oct. 18. A gallery talk on Mr. Moss’ work will take place Oct. 2.
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| "Visitation No. 16," oil on paper by Ben Frank Moss. |
Born in Philadelphia in 1936, Mr. Moss has combined his spiritual inclinations with a lifelong interest in visual arts. His father was a graduate of the seminary and served Presbyterian churches in New York, suburban Philadelphia and Colorado.
Mr. Moss attended PTS "to test his interest and commitment to the study of theology and the ministry as a vocation," says Lisa Hess, program director for congregational life at the seminary. It appears, instead, Mr. Moss followed his natural abilities to communicate directly from the soul onto the canvas.
Since 1993, Mr. Moss has been the George Frederick Jewett professor of Studio Art at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. He attended PTS in the early ’60s and later received a master’s in fine arts from Boston University, studying with Walter Murch, Karl Fortess and Herman Keys.
"My work is often generated out of a distant memory of a physical setting that becomes a metaphor for a personal truth," Mr. Moss writes in the anthology, The Artist as Native: Reinventing Regionalism (Pomegranate Artbooks). "As a child I had the good fortune of woods, open fields and farmland in which to play. When I was 9, my father… took a pastorate in Huntington, Long Island. It was a quiet place of natural beauty and my imaginative life was centered on continuing play in the woods as well as the added blessing of water."
When the family moved to Denver, the young Mr. Moss encountered the Rocky Mountains, the grandeur of which also is reflected in his work.
"The paintings and drawings are built out of extended exposure to what is seen and felt, trying to understand what lies behind the appearance of the natural form," he writes. "I work totally from memory, with each piece developing on its own. The surprise of the finished piece can recall a beach on Long Island Sound… or a well-traveled road in the Northwest. At another level it is clear that I am trying to hold (or) reflect the lost moment, break through the fence of time and reclaim what was given to me as a child."
Perhaps the paintings are a kind of Rorschach test for these troubled times. One looks to them for hope and in "Visitation No. 10," might be rewarded. Straddling the line between abstraction and representation, dark, heavy lines criss-cross the small oil painting, looking a little like an angel running through a teal and turquoise rainbow.
Mr. Moss often uses light shades of blue that, in spiritual studies and holistic health, are associated with healing qualities. These hopeful hues tumble and dance in "Ascension at Black Rock," "Approaching Sound" and "Resurrection No. 1."
The eerie "Prophecy No. 2" is dominated, ironically, by twin tower-like thick, dark lines. One "tower" appears tilted and split at the top, another is toppling into a swirl of ivory, which looks like the foam on a crashing wave. At the bottom of the painting is a sea of yellows and lime greens, with soothing sky blues and lavenders at the top.
"Air Fire" pays homage to one of Earth’s primordial elements and appears to be a structure about to be consumed by flames. Stepping closer to the painting, one recognizes an abstract figure among the swirling colors. Its outstretched "arms" or "wings" swept upward are reminiscent of a phoenix rising, immortal and victorious.
Again, perhaps tapping into the nation’s collective unconscious, Mr. Moss’ work reminds us of the symbolic healing power of fire. Over and over again, news coverage of the recent terrorism has graphically shown us the destructive power of fire. Yet we may have forgotten that fire once gave man light and protection from enemies.
The works are small but intense, averaging just 9 by 7 inches. There is much hope to be gleaned from them.
Mr. Moss, whose exhibits and shows are almost too numerous to count, describes his painting as "An act of faith. (It is a) means of objectifying a personal truth, a workable way to reconnect with that great ineffable mystery beyond the human."
Ms. Hess says the Erdman Gallery hopes to "be able to present art which can bring a sense of presence and has some connection to spiritual growth and, especially, spiritual awareness."
Spirit States, oil paintings by Ben Frank Moss, is on view at the
Princeton Theological Seminary’s Erdman Gallery, Erdman Hall, 20 Library Place,
Princeton, through Oct. 18. Gallery talk Oct. 2, 4:30 p.m. Gallery hours: Mon.-Fri.
8:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m., Sat. 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Sun. 2-9:30 p.m. For information,
call (609) 497-7990. On the Web: www.ptsem.edu