creation in the image of God

This photo by Harry Callahan is truly moving in the way it speaks to me. When I view this picture in relation to the idea of imagining God, I can't help but feel overcome by His almighty character and presence in His creation. The stillness of the image is captivating because when we think of large bodies of water, we think of the rise and tide of the waves and movement of the earth. We are able to physically feel the power of our tangible surroundings, the creation in which we are physically emerged. Yet this photograph allows us to capture the still and unshakable essence of God in His abundant creation. The looming clouds in the enormously vast sky embody an entity all on their own, one that casts itself over all of existence, shedding both light and shade for the rest of creation to subside under. There is also a sense of self-reflection on the surface of the water that allows water and sky to merge seamlessly. As the unidentified human bodies interrupt the image, they are too small to be recognizably significant, yet too apparent to avoid being seen at all. In this view, God ultimately knows and acknowledges each individual being, no matter how small or insignificant.

hagia sophia

1- What does this image mean historically?
The Hagia Sophia was built in the 6th century on the site of the Byzantium acropolis as the most heralding architectural, empirical, and spiritual endeavor of its time. Called the "Church of the Divine Wisdom," Istanbul's domed structure and vast interior is illuminated by a reverent light which shines through the windows aligning the construct's walls. Originally built to serve as the principal place of worship, as well as the greatest church in Christendom, its impressive stature and grandeur were nevertheless acknowledged and later taken over by the Ottomans after Mehmet the Conqueror claimed victory over the city in 1493. As the world's most impressive building, the Ayasofya was then converted from a place of Christian worship, into the most revered mosque in existence.

2- What does this image mean to you? Why did you choose it?
The striking image of the Hagia Sophia speaks to me in its palpable spiritual luminance. Although the building itself seems to scream of darkness and gloom, the light shining through its downcast windows brings a vibrant sense of the lively presence of the Holy Spirit. It is meaningful to me that this once holy place of Christian worship is now merely a museum, housing a history of the mosque's Islamic faith in its vast interior, covered with gold tones, Islamic calligraphy, and iconic ideology. I am moved by the image of light shining through a once apparently dark dome, as I begin to wonder what it would feel like to experience the Hagia Sophia in person, to stand at first in awe of its wondrous structure, but yet later to look up and be met with the awesome beams of light from above. I just view this image of the Holy Spirit as absolutely radiant.

3- Is the image true? Why or Why not?
The image itself is true of the character of the Spirit in all that it touches. At first glance, the dark shadows looming within the apparently dreary and downcast interior of the Hagia Sophia seem to suggest an almost deserted quality of the building. Yet, when I consider the truth in the image, I can personally sense the presence of Christian hope, promise, and light in the once seemingly lost darkness of the barren place of worship. What once looked so still and dead, now houses such palpable life.

a sight to be seen.

"Men act and women appear. Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at. This determines not only most relationships between men and women but also the relation of women to themselves. The surveyor of woman in herself is male: the surveyed female. Thus she turns herself into an object--and most particularly an object of vision: a sight."

Today's image of the body is very much inspired by how we see--how our body is seen influences how we see ourselves. The male and female bodies have always been directly related to one another, essentially because of the way in which males and females see the image of one another. "Men look at women. Women watch themselves being looked at." The female of today is not aware of herself as in the nude Venus of Urbino by Titan during the High Renaissance of the 1500s, but rather in 2010, the female is aware of her social power as well as self-empowerment. The male and female bodies are not coupled together as they are in the Egyptian sculptures of King and Queen Menkaure during 2680-2565 B.C.E. Instead of being attached to a wall and to each other, the female and male bodies of 2010 are free standing, free moving, and free from each other. The female is not supporting the male like the Queen did in presenting the King to the Pharoahs. She is independent, secure, and liberated.

As the cultural depiction of the mirror was often used to symbolize the vanity of women, the female self-image of 2010 represented in this photo is designed to flatter the female body, rather than just the male spectator. Women of 2010 are indeed aware that they are being looked at as a cultural "image" of the expected embodiment of today's female. She is strong, healthy, beautiful, and finally powerful. We no longer consider the image of strength, power, and confidence to be solely represented by the classical Greecian warrior--the perfect male body. Instead, we see today's female as beautiful in her own self-confidence, self-empowerment, and self-image. She sees the male see her as a vision of her physical female body, but the real female body of 2010 is seen as she sees herself--as she sees her own outer reflection as a representation of her inner self.