Redeemed from Incurvature

This photograph was taken by one of my students, Rebekah Leong, at the Hakone Open Air Museum in Japan. The sculpture by Guiliano Vangi is titled, "Grande Racconto," the Great Story.

I don't know if the artist and I are perceiving the same story in this work, but I see someone redeemed from the incurvature of their soul. The figure in the middle is turned inward, curled into a little ball by crushing self-absorption. The likeness can be one of depression, sadness, or simply smallness. The posture seems safe, but tragic and disengaged. In this case, however, the man has begun to look upward from himself. There is a hint of hope.

The other figure heads out open-chested, with gaze lifted. It is a posture of possibility and gladness, one that embraces life with a sense of hopeful anticipation.

I do not know how you see the story here, but I see the two figures as different experiences of the same person. It is an image of redemption from incurvature, a turn outward toward engagement with God and others. It is the story of salvation.

Bob