"Evolution of Spirituality" by Gobin Stair -- part 1

Part I of the text of a sermon by Peter Baird, given in dedication of Gobin Stair's gift to the parish of his Mural, "Evolution of Spirituality". Spoken on February 11, 1996 at the First Parish Church, Unitarian Universalist, Kingston, Massachusetts.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

Click on links above to view mural in greater detail.

'Evolution of Spirituality'
  
It is my honor and great privilege to be speaking to you today - a significant day in the history of this congregation - as together we dedicate the wonderful mural "Evolution of Spirituality" that Gobin Stair has created and given to us and which will be officially unveiled after this service across the street in Sampson Hall. After the service you are all invited to the unveiling of this work of art.

I am speaking to you this morning, because with this project and the way he approached it, Gobin kindled my imagination. For me, the mural has already accomplished Gobins's primary goal: to engage the spiritual and artistic imagination of this parish and this community. Many others have also become engaged - some from innate interest in the project and others out of concern of what noninvolvement might bring!

A role I played in this project was to act as a liaison between the Parish Committee and Gobin. In that role, I attempted to pass on to Gobin the gist of the committee's comments and reactions, to discuss these issues with him and to discuss ideas that might bridge the differences. This was a task I enjoyed, because it spurred some very interesting discussions with Gobin. On the basis of these discussions, I was able to help keep the Parish committee aware of Gobin's goals and progress. Very often what I passed back to the committee was a description of how Gobin had changed the mural to incorporate an idea or resolve an objection. The "Artist and Parish" responsive reading you just heard gives a flavor of the dialogue that occurred. I want to point out that, regardless of the source of an idea, Gobin always carried it out in his own unique way.

I was a liaison for one group of the parish. Many others in this community were doing the same thing and talking to different groups. There was a steady flow of people to Gobin's Studio starting in early summer. There were two publicly announced showings at the Beal House of the mural as a work in progress, one in the summer and one in the fall. These allowed everyone the opportunity for direct viewing and public discussion. I will surprise few people in the parish by saying that in the early part of this process, there was a lot of anxiety. Gobin has a strong style. He is not afraid of raising serious and troubling issues and, indeed, he feels it part of the duty of the artist to raise such issues. Thus, many found early versions of the mural troubling and there was much discussion.

The mural that we have across the street does indeed put important ideas up for consideration but few, if any, that act as impediments to the central issues and symbols of spirituality. Gobin has called this mural "Evolution of Spirituality". The title lets us expect to see in it the developmental change of spirituality through time and perhaps to thus gain insight about its nature. I believe the mural accomplishes this task. Many themes are embedded in and evoked by this composition. I will try to touch upon a few.

For those who have not yet seen the mural, I will give the gist of its layout and mention but a few of the many important symbols it contains. As one might expect from its title - there is a developmental progression from left to right. A solitary figure walks in to the mural from the left and in front of a Stonehenge like image. Starting at that point, a procession of people, ever growing in number, makes the long walk across time and across the mural. Toward the left, the early procession goes behind a small group huddled around a camp fire. As the procession moves to the right, more and more people join, until, at the mural's right, the procession forms a multitude and again people gather around a fire. Embraced by its light these people form the head of a larger person, emblematic of all humanity, looking to the right - forward into time. The outstretched hand of this being cups beneath, and its gaze is focused upon, an image of the planet earth, floating in space.

I want to spend a moment and look at the endpoints before talking more about the mural between. The progression from a single, isolated individual to a multitude shows the change in humanity's situation on earth. Stonehenge is monumental and mystical. We are told it was an observatory for watching and predicting the movements of the sun, moon and stars. But Stonehenge was not built by one person. Many people had to work together to create it. Stonehenge provides some of the earliest tangible evidence of collective work toward a goal of knowledge and worship. A wonderful symbol of the quest, the spiritual challenge, to understand the larger universe we inhabit. It is a symbol of early mankind looking outward to find where they fit in.

In the final images at the right, the multitude of people crowding together is symbolic of our ever more crowded earth. In this century we have taken the step out into space and, for the first time, had the opportunity to look back at our planet from an external point. We have also begun to recognize the incredible interdependence of life on this earth and to realize that the ramifications of our technological success could easily prove our undoing. Beyond that, is the realization that we all must share this one planet. And as resources decrease, and communication increases, we are increasingly aware that a major spiritual task now is to learn to live together in this small world, to find harmony with each other and to maintain the interdependent web of life on earth.

Symbolic representation permeates the mural. Several important recurring symbols include fire: representing the human spirit, enlightenment, knowledge - as well as one of the most important elements and tools of human survival. The crowd that passes behind a fire merges with the flame and emerges again. They are creatures of spirit. Another recurring symbol is a spiral - representing evolutionary growth and progress. Symbols are depicted in the sky above the procession. These tend to be pure representations of ideas, concepts or symbols. Other symbols form the landscape, and still others can be found in the people forming the procession. Many of the major religions and philosophies are also symbolically represented. One powerful symbolic tableau is a supplicant on the ground reaching to the sky with both arms toward a mirrored image of a god spirit reaching back to the supplicant thus depicting an anthropomorphic view of god. An image of spirit rising from the heart of a vibrantly alive tree symbolizes our attunement to the natural world and the religions that are based upon a spiritual view of the natural order.

The central panel holds a huge hand pointing toward the sky, an image from the fundamentalist preacher who points in the direction toward salvation. In the sky behind this hand is the symbolic Christian cross and beneath, in the procession, four disciples carry the cross to the crucifixion. Just as a map made in America puts the American Continent in the center, so also Christianity takes center stage in our part of the world and in this mural. Note also that although Christianity is depicted as one of the more significant developments on the path, it is not represented as the culmination of spiritual evolution. No one religion is.

Other symbols are down in the crowd, in use by people and formed by people. One person stumbles, and others help the person to arise. Santa Claus walks in the crowd and is greeted by the eternal child, walking in the opposite direction, seeking his or her own truths.

The mural depicts the evolution of spirituality - but what is "Spirituality?" This is a difficult issue because the concept is intangible. Perhaps spirit is like information. Although we know that information is important for making decisions, it is hard to define the nature of information. And yet we speak about it and use the term. There are even branches of science which work with this rather abstract and intangible thing. My take on spirituality is that it involves an awareness of the world linked to feeling, an attunement to the harmonies and patterns of existence.

The capability for such awareness must be fundamental across our known history. This capability may have been just as present in prehistoric humanity as it is today. What has evolved are ideas about the nature of the world and the nature of the world itself as we have developed technology and our numbers have increased. If spirituality involves awareness of the world linked with feeling, it has a close connection to aesthetics. One who is aesthetically attuned is aware of patterns and subtle interconnections that affect the perception of the whole.  [Return to Top]

  Evolution of Spirituality -Part 2