There's Art in the Library?

Who knew Biola’s library held some fantastic religious works of art hanging along the walls of the lobby? Often times people will let these go unnoticed when they are on a mission. Currently Wayne Forte, a religious artist who has taught at Biola, has 30 of his works posted along the walls of the library and they are very relevant to our society and our Biola community.

Each semester Biola features a different artist’s work in the library and this semester belongs to Forte. Forte has been painting since the 80’s and has tried to but a modern day spin on old concepts. His goal has been to pass the old messages on with a “fresh voice to a new generation.” Through his exhibition here, I believe Forte has accomplished his goals through rich Christian allegories and imagery on paintings that are not all necessary religious at first sight.

Through a mixture of acrylics, oils, and objects, Forte masterfully orchestrated a variety of colors and textures that are very intriguing and aesthetically pleasing. I do not claim to know much about art, but I know that I enjoyed the technical aspects that Forte offered. They contained such depth in texture, color, and content that captivated my attention beyond what most paintings can. The greatest thing about the collection though was that while they all had a common thread in them, each painting was still unique. He never used the same color scheme, but always mixed it up. Forte had paintings that were extremely abstract, as well as paintings that were very realistic and literal; he had paintings with varieties of blue and varieties of oranges; he had paintings of just paint and paintings of acrylics, oils, and paintbrushes all stuck to the same canvas. Some even focused more around words than images! The way he let the paintings vary in medium and color was very interesting and by doing so I think he entices the observer to look further into his works and the meaning behind them.

While the technical aspects of Forte’s paintings were phenomenal, the best part was that most of his paintings could be taken at face value from a secular point of view as well as a Christian one. They were intended to be viewed from the Christian perspective though so we should analyze them as such and try to understand their historical significance, or the significance their meaning can have on our lives today.

A painting that Forte has titled three different ways: “Aaron Holding Moses’ Arm (2008),”

“Arms of Prayer (2008),” and “And the Battle Was Won (2009).”

One of my favorites, “And the Battle Was Won,” is supposed to be a picture of Aaron holding up Moses’ arm during the battle against the Amalekites in Exodus 17, but by just looking at it, you would just think of a friend giving support when you are weak. While Forte painted it to have biblical meaning behind it, it does not have to viewed that way. By doing this, I think that a lot of Forte’s painting are available and relevant to a wider audience. While he does this in a lot of his paintings, Forte still is a religious artist and paints a lot of obviously Christian art, seen in his most popular work, “A Wreath for the Sinai Generation.”

“A Wreath for the Sinai Generation (2001)” includes a lot of religious references including that of the serpent, the cross, and Mt. Sinai and the people who were there in the time of Exodus.

Wayne Forte exhibited a lot of talent in his paintings that were showcased in the Biola library. They were complex and intriguing with the common, but subtle theme of Christ woven through them all. Most of all, I believe these paintings have caused me to stop and think, “With work this outstanding and thought provoking, what else have I been missing in the library?”