Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 20, 2004|Volume 32, Number 19

"Navajo Christ Breaking Bread" is one of the works on view in "Native American Grace."

Works pay tribute to 'lost
culture' of Native Americans

A Catholic priest's iconic depictions of Christian saints as Native Americans are featured in a new exhibition opening Monday, Feb. 23, at the Institute of Sacred Music.

Titled "Native American Grace: The Art of Father John Giuliani," the exhibit will be on view through April 2.

Of his paintings, Giuliani has written that "as a Catholic priest and son of Italian immigrants, I bear the religious and ethnic burden of ancestral crimes perpetrated on the first inhabitants of the Americas. My intent, therefore, in depicting Christian saints as Native Americans is to acknowledge their original spiritual presence on this land. Many have been converted to Christianity with little of their indigenous culture remaining. It is this lost culture, especially, that I attempt to celebrate in rendering the beauty and excellence of their craft, as well as the dignity of their persons."

Giuliani's works have been exhibited in the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; the New Britain Museum of American Art in Connecticut; the Marian Institute in Dayton, Ohio; and the Aldrich Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Many of his works are in churches throughout the country, including permanent installations in churches throughout the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Rosebud and the Church of Isaac Jogues, of Rapid City, all in South Dakota. Fourteen panels are also at the Crow Church of St. Dennis, Crow Agency, Montana.

The works in the Yale display are on loan from various private collectors throughout the United States.

A reception will be held to honor Giuliani and the exhibition on Thursday, March 25, 4:306 p.m. at the Institute of Sacred Music, 409 Prospect St. Free parking is available.

The exhibition, presented with support from the Divinity School, is open weekdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Both the exhibition and the reception are free and open to the public. For more information, call (203) 432-5180, or visit the website at www.yale.edu/ism.

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