Our Lady of Ferguson

Last updated
Our Lady of Ferguson
ArtistMark Doox
Year2015
Type icon, acrylic collage
Location Cathedral of St. John the Divine

Our Lady, Mother of Ferguson and All Those Killed by Gun Violence, simply known as Our Lady of Ferguson, is an icon of the Madonna and Child. The icon, which depicts the Virgin Mary as a Black Madonna, was created in 2015 by Mark Doox (formerly Mark Dukes), an iconographer, and was commissioned by the Rev. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones, an Episcopal priest at Trinity Church in New York City. The icon, created after the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, has been referenced as a symbol against gun violence, particularly towards members of the African-American community in the United States.

History

The icon of Our Lady of Ferguson was created in 2015 by Mark Dukes, an iconographer who has written icons for the Episcopal Church and the African Orthodox Church and was commissioned by Rev. Mark Francisco Bozzuti-Jones, an Episcopal priest at Trinity Church in New York City. [1] [2] The icon was painted in the Byzantine style using acrylic paint and collage techniques. [1] Our Lady of Ferguson depicts the Virgin Mary as a Black Madonna, holding her hands up. Where her womb would be located, there is a small black silhouette of the Child Jesus, with the Sacred Heart of Jesus, also with his hands and arms extended, in the crosshairs of a gun. [3] The posture taken by both Jesus and Mary are a reference to "Hands up, don't shoot", a popular slogan associated with protesting police brutality after the Shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. [2] The position of the hands is also in the orans posture found in other Christian icons. [2] The icon focuses on Marian intercession against police brutality and gun violence, particularly towards people of color. [4] [5] [6]

The icon received publicity after Father James Martin, an American Jesuit priest and author, shared a photograph of the icon on Facebook on June 9, 2016. [2] [7] In his post, Martin wrote "Our Lady prays for all who are targeted by gun violence: African-Americans, the poor and marginalized, and police officers. All are her children. All are our brothers and sisters. Let us ask Our Lady to pray for us". [2] [3]

The icon, used by Anglicans and Catholics, has been displayed at Trinity Church and at the Jesuit School of Theology of Santa Clara University's Gesù Chapel. [5] It is currently on long-term loan to the Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, the mother church of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Madonna (art)</span> Artistic representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus

In art, a Madonna is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna 'my lady' (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in Christian iconography, divided into many traditional subtypes especially in Eastern Orthodox iconography, often known after the location of a notable icon of the type, such as the Theotokos of Vladimir, Agiosoritissa, Blachernitissa, etc., or descriptive of the depicted posture, as in Hodegetria, Eleusa, etc.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Queen of Heaven</span> Marian title

Queen of Heaven is a title given by Christians to Mary, mother of Jesus, mainly in the Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodoxy, and, to a lesser extent, in Anglicanism and Lutheranism. The title has long been a tradition, included in prayers and devotional literature and seen in Western art in the subject of the Coronation of the Virgin from the High Middle Ages, long before the Church gave it a formal definition status.

<i>Madonna Della Strada</i> Painting of Mary at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, Italy

Madonna Della Strada or Santa Maria Della Strada is a painting of Mary, mother of Jesus at the Church of the Gesù in Rome, mother church of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) religious order of the Catholic Church; it is a variation on the basilissa (imperial) type of icon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Sorrows</span> Marian title

Our Lady of Sorrows, Our Lady of Dolours, the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows, and Our Lady of Piety, Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which Mary, mother of Jesus, is referred to in relation to sorrows in life. As Mater Dolorosa, it is also a key subject for Marian art in the Catholic Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Perpetual Help</span> Title of the Mary, the mother of Jesus

Our Mother of Perpetual Succour, colloquially known as Our Lady of Perpetual Help), is a Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary associated with a 15th-century Byzantine icon and a purported Marian apparition. The image was enshrined in the Church of San Matteo in Via Merulana from 1499 to 1798 and is today permanently enshrined in the Church of Saint Alphonsus of Liguori in Rome, where the novena to Our Mother of Perpetual Help is prayed weekly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orans</span> Bodily position of prayer

Orans, a loanword from Medieval Latin orans translated as "one who is praying or pleading", also orant or orante, as well as lifting up holy hands, is a posture or bodily attitude of prayer, usually standing, with the elbows close to the sides of the body and with the hands outstretched sideways, palms up. The orans posture of prayer has a Scriptural basis in 1 Timothy 2 : "I desire, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument" (NRSV).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salus Populi Romani</span> Icon of the Virgin Mary

Salus Populi Romani is a Catholic title associated with the venerated image of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Rome. This Byzantine icon of the Madonna and Child Jesus holding a Gospel book on a gold ground, now heavily overpainted, is kept in the Borghese (Pauline) Chapel of the Santa Maria Maggiore. Pope Francis has constructed a burial vault near the icon, intended to be his final resting place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint symbolism</span> Attribute identifying a saint in artworks

Symbolism of Christian saints has been used from the very beginnings of the religion. Each saint is said to have led an exemplary life and symbols have been used to tell these stories throughout the history of the Church. A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented by a symbol or iconic motif associated with their life, termed an attribute or emblem, in order to identify them. The study of these forms part of iconography in art history. They were particularly used so that the illiterate could recognize a scene, and to give each of the Saints something of a personality in art. They are often carried in the hand by the Saint.

Our Lady often refers to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titles of Mary, mother of Jesus</span> Descriptive names for Mary, mother of Jesus

Mary, the mother of Jesus in Christianity, is known by many different titles, epithets, invocations, and several names associated with places.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marian art in the Catholic Church</span> Iconographic depiction of Virgin Mary in Catholic Churches

Mary has been one of the major subjects of Western art for centuries. There is an enormous quantity of Marian art in the Catholic Church, covering both devotional subjects such as the Virgin and Child and a range of narrative subjects from the Life of the Virgin, often arranged in cycles. Most medieval painters, and from the Reformation to about 1800 most from Catholic countries, have produced works, including old masters such as Michelangelo and Botticelli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugium Peccatorum</span> Title of the Virgin Mary

Refugium Peccatorum, also known as Our Lady of Refuge, is a title for the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Catholic Church. Its use goes back to Saint Germanus of Constantinople in the 8th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regina Mundi Catholic Church (Soweto)</span> Largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa

Regina Mundi, designed by architect Anthony Noel Errol Slaven, is the largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa. It is located in Rockville, Soweto, a populous black urban residential area within the city of Johannesburg. Due to the role it played as a place of gathering for the people of Soweto in the years before, during, and after the anti-apartheid struggle, it is often referred to as "the people's church" or "the people's cathedral".

<i>Our Lady of Šiluva</i> Venerated Catholic icon

Our Lady of Šiluva is Roman Catholic image of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated at the Basilica of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Šiluva shrine in Lithuania. The patriotic icon is highly venerated in Lithuania and is often called Lithuania's greatest treasure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hands up, don't shoot</span> Slogan and gesture

"Hands up, don't shoot", sometimes shortened to "hands up", is a slogan and gesture that originated after the August 9, 2014, police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and then adopted at protests against police brutality elsewhere in the United States. The slogan implies one has their hands in the air, a common sign of submission, and is therefore not a threat to an approaching police officer. Witness reports from the Brown shooting are conflicted as to what Brown was doing with his hands when he was shot. One witness claimed Brown had his hands in the air before being killed, which was the basis for the slogan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Willesden</span>

Our Lady of Willesden is a title of the Blessed Virgin Mary venerated by Christians in London, especially by Anglicans, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox. It is associated with the historic image (statue) and pilgrimage centre in the community of Willesden, originally a village in Middlesex, England, but now a suburb of London. The pre-Reformation shrine was home to the Black Madonna of Willesden statue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Hart McNichols</span> American painter

William Hart McNichols is an American Catholic priest and artist from the United States. He was formerly a member of the Society of Jesus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Our Lady of Aranzazu</span> Patroness of San Mateo, Rizal

Our Lady of Aránzazu and is a Roman Catholic title of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black Lives Matter movement in popular culture</span>

The Black Lives Matter movement has been depicted and documented in various artistic forms and mediums including film, song, television, and the visual arts. In some instances this has taken place in the form of protest art. These cultural representations have also grown organically among artists who seek to partake in activist efforts in support or in recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement. The themes conveyed in these artistic works address the history of racism and injustice toward people of color in the United States and typically express sentiments of anger and fear as well as solace and hope.

<i>Madonna of Kyiv</i> Photograph and painting

The Madonna of Kyiv is a photo of a woman nursing a child while taking refuge in the Kyiv Metro, taken in February 2022 in the first days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Taken by a Hungarian journalist András Földes, the photo has become popular on the Internet. It has become an illustration of both a humanitarian crisis and an unjust war.

References

  1. 1 2 "Mark Dukes Bio Page". Requiem for 10,000 Souls.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "New Icon Depicts Black Mary as 'Our Lady Mother of Ferguson'". Sojourners. July 11, 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Prayer and Devotion | The Nebraska Episcopalian". nebraskaepiscopalian.org. Archived from the original on September 30, 2020. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  4. "The Mad Scene". The Mad Scene.
  5. 1 2 "Brochure". lwcal.scu.edu. 2019. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  6. ""Our Lady of Ferguson and All Who have Died of Gun Violence": Reflections on "Black Lives Matter" and Visual Biblical Allegory during Black Catholic History Month". Graduate Theological Union. October 22, 2019.
  7. "Black Lives Matter: Weeping with Mary at the foot of the Cross". July 27, 2016.