Journal of Sacred Work

   The passing last week, at the age of 91, of acclaimed artist Andrew Wyeth highlighted the enormous contribution of beauty made by this remarkable vehicle of Love. Wyeth's most famous painting, Christina's World, appears above. His model was a neighbor who was paralyzed from the waist down. This image is only one of thousands of stunning works he bestowed upon the world.
   I thought of Wyeth for the Journal because of a comment made by his wife about Love. In addition to his "safe" paintings of landscapes, windows and barns, Wyeth also painted a series of nudes of another neighbor, a beautiful woman named Helga (see below.) Since the nudes were of another woman the Wyeth's knew, the images created a sensation. Immediately, tongues began to wag. Was the artist having an affair with his subject? How did Wyeth's wife feel about this? Was she threatened?
   Betsy Wyeth saw at a higher level. When asked what she thought her husband was trying to convey in his paintings of Helga she answered with the one word we preach in this site every day. "Love," she said. And that is what she saw in her husband's paintings – whether the subject was Helga or a curtain blowing in the breeze.
   We each have the ability to respond to the world from our baser instincts or from the higher reaches of our souls. Caregivers encounter unclothed patients everyday. Naturally, this is done in the context of professionalism. Boundaries are important.
   Yet, the average person finds themselves confused when an artist's subject is a nude model. How can that be professional, some folks wonder?
   Any relationship, whether caregiver to patient or artist to model, can be abused or elevated. The answer always lies in what Ms. Wyeth said. When we care-give with Love, God shines through. When artists create with Love, God shines through.
   Our responsibility is to train ourselves to see past a naked patient to the need that patient has. The responsibility of mature art appreciation is to see past the fact that a subject may be nude and instead see if God's Love is shinning through the canvas and into our hearts. When it does, art can teach us even more about the sacred work of caregiving.
   What do you think?

-Erie Chapman