Psalms of Ascents Images
The Songs of Ascents Series
Aaron Collier, professor of painting at Tulane University in New Orleans completed a series of paintings on the Psalms of Ascents (Psalm 120-134) in 2007. He has graciously allowed us to integrate his images of these psalms into our teaching and reflection on the Songs of Ascents.
Here is Aaron's introduction to the series.
Hope without a formidable opponent is fancy; joy without teeth becomes limp amusement. Sorrow swims in and through our days in pursuit of unguarded celebration, yearning to seize hope and joy. The paintings of Songs of Ascent mark such a battle, but ultimately declare Joy the victor. The toil and industry of sorrow is not dismissed; rather, it is employed and embraced by the galvanized arms of delight. Dualistic devices, such as the lush field and the crude mark, denote such action; heavy tones or dingy scrawls occupy important territory in the composition, but are frequently overrun and overcome by brighter cuffs. Festivity transforms the grubby fingers of despair and triumphantly clambers to the throne.
Brief songs were composed by Israelites of the Ancient Near East to score their ascent towards Jerusalem for yearly feasts and celebrations in honor of Yahweh. These songs were the expressions of pilgrims, honest about travail yet hopeful regarding the future. I liken my current paintings to these pithy tunes of transition written by the Israelites. The paintings avoid fully chronicled events and accounts in congruency with the Psalms; the images picture robust glimpses of hope’s triumph. Also like the Psalms, joy is manifest in varying degrees within these paintings; Mercy and Surely There is Hope merely glimmer while Abundance overflows. The paintings of Songs of Ascent are intended to sanctify the journey and reveal as limited the path that avoids struggle in pursuit of revelry.
Songs of Ascents - "self titled"
Psalm 120 - "Settling the Foreign Land"
Psalm 121 - "A Glimpse to the Hills"
Psalm 122 - "Patience"
Psalm 123 - "Help Higher than the Hills"
Psalm 124 - "Snare Broken"
Psalm 126 - "Laughter"
Psalm 128 - Abundance"
Psalm 129 - "Furrows not Fallow"
Psalm 130 - "Like the Watchmen Waits for the Morning"
Psalm 131 - Peace through Proximity"
Psalm 133 - Like the Dew of Hermon"
Psalm 134 - Grounded, Leaping"
The Psalms of Ascents - Word Clouds
Wordle.net provides a unique way to 'image' a large amount of text. We used it to provide these 'word clouds' of the Psalms of Ascents (Psalm 120-134) using the text of the ESV translation.
Image 1
Image 2
