tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042886598650075.post8570653580082153056..comments2024-03-22T11:37:52.668-05:00Comments on Byzantine, Texas: Confronting the new iconoclasm of the mass-producedByzantine, TXhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17845681957622343484noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042886598650075.post-5867067966857776462012-06-09T13:03:21.141-05:002012-06-09T13:03:21.141-05:00I am an iconographer who works in acrylic. I don&#...I am an iconographer who works in acrylic. I don't think there is are sacred materials or a sacred method for the painting in iconography. Many different styles have produced not only blessed icons, but even wonderworking, holy icons that have endured and been copied for a long time. Some of these wonderworking icons are in a folk style that is not really as refined as the classic Bzyzantime ones. <br /><br />I have heard of and seen myself icons made out of paper streaming Myhrr. Usually these seem to be copies of other wonderworking icons, but some of these were exactly the cheaper mass-produced icons I used to be upset to see in churches. I would like to see people choose the best art for their churches, and to at least give the struggling iconographers a shot at it. I for one can come close to the price of the large mass produced ones, even though I should sell them for more.KK Iconshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08137591952049616448noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042886598650075.post-8590521266364997232012-04-17T12:45:33.774-05:002012-04-17T12:45:33.774-05:00I have news for those against acrylic (even though...I have news for those against acrylic (even though I'm not the biggest fan myself) - the vast majority of painted icons out there are done in acrylic. It is because it allows icons to be painted fast and cheaper. How many parishes are willing to wait years for egg tempera or frescoes? Very few. To be precise, unless the painting is done in the proper frescoe method, on wet plaster (hence the term frescoe), it is not a frescoe. Many icons called "frescoes" are in fact acrylic on canvas, and then glued onto the walls.Elishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07661936784444666510noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042886598650075.post-17680274444340902282012-04-13T02:30:10.826-05:002012-04-13T02:30:10.826-05:00I have mixed feelings about this. I really don'...I have mixed feelings about this. I really don't like the idea of wallpaper frescoes, and there is something important about using natural materials in a traditionally sanctioned manner (i.e. I am hesitant about iconographers who use acrylic paint etc). And it is important that good iconographers are supported. But then there is also the reality. If our parish were only to use proper painted icons, we would simply not be able to afford them. Moreover, I am not sure that a bad painted icon (which is what we would be forced to use) is any better than well-made reproduction of a good icon - in fact I am inclined to think that it is worse.Macrina Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06212423889132994487noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73042886598650075.post-26820057946527479202012-04-12T22:12:40.339-05:002012-04-12T22:12:40.339-05:00St John of Damascus said that when two sticks were...St John of Damascus said that when two sticks were bound together in the shape of the Cross, he venerated them as a symbol of his salvation. But when they were broken apart he cast them on the pile with the other kindling.<br /><br />Obviously if we can, we ought to buy hand painted icons. But it is unrealistic to insist that every icon be handmade. And just as two twigs bound together becomes a symbol of salvation, so a piece of paper that bears the Lord’s image is just as much an icon as the Christ of Sinai. The icon is holy because of what it represents, not because it is made of certain substances.John Willardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08446809365237160496noreply@blogger.com