The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1911-12-09


our people, and hope it may find no
entertainment in our thought.
It's no sign of progress that the pew
demands and the ministry supplies
such product. There is one Gospel
one Savior of men, the Incarnate, I'm.
maculate God, made flesh and dwelt
among us. There's one true ministry
God called to teach whatsoever He
commanded, other messages are super.
f1uous, spurious, unavailing. This true
ministry need not thrive one at the
expense of the other, need not be
exalted one to the derogation of the
other, needs not to be qualified by
adjectives of comparison. God is the
final determining factor Paul plants,
Apollos w:aters-but God giveth the
increase.
And this Gospel proclamation needs
a voice. You have conception and
you voice that. I have a conception
and voice that It needs repre-.
sentation in color, a picture, a like.
ness. You have your mental picture
and have mine. Yours means some.
thing to you, mine something to me
Yours is interesting to me because it
shows me your conception. Mine to
you for the same reason. But who
could ever do justice to likeness OF
Christ? An artist might conceive the
body in this pose or that, but could
anybody, artist or not, know that soul:
He might conceive an expression al
the Supper, on Mt: of Temptation
bearing a cross, before Plate, on Cal
vary, but he couldn't get these all in
one picture. Yet they would be ex
pressions which were outward ones OF
a great soul.
| used this word conception
on purpose, because each and all pic.
lures Of Christ are conceptions. ,
They have no historical value, only
artistic value. The Jews had no like
nesses, no images, because of the sec.
ond commandment, hence none come
down to us. All pictures have been
made since, and having no original
to copy, they are just conceptions, -
nothing more! 1t may be Hoffmans,
it may be Munkassy's, it may be Tan.
ner's, but whatever it may be named
it is conception.
Now these conceptions are first in
the artist, then on the canvas, First
it lives, breathes, pulsates, is a reality
then translated it becomes dead, still,
lifeless, pulseless. My conception of
God, of Jesus, of angels, is different
from that of others, because 1 am a
different man. I see Jesus as nobody
else sees him or can see him. My
personal experiences, my personal
needs, my personality. makes Him all
over, "recreates," reconceives Him
brings Him within my grasp, my com
prehension,. know Him, who helps
who sympathizes, who strengthens, a
spiritual conception, a spiritual com
muniOn and visitation.
Now when 1 make Him objective
visual, external, work out my Jesus on
canvas or paper with brush or pencil
may 1 not color Him without as I dc
within? Why should make Him white
instead of brown? Why should my
angels not be like unto myself? Truth
to tell the angels of my future are the
angels OF my past and of my present;
wife and children, mother, father
sister, brother, preacher, teacher
friends, their faces are familiar, their
sincerity and helpfulness proved, their
interest unfailing; they are already
crowned with halo of glory.
wouldn't know them if they were
changed, they would be strange, un
like themselves, unfamiliar. No, no,
am making my heaven as 1 60
peopling it with those love and those
who love me, black men and women
and children, and why not?
Isn't it true now as always that the
holy mothers are giving US the saviors
of the race? Yes, the surroundings as
humble as those of the nativity, their
circumstances as poor as those OF
Mary and Joseph. What of that?
Surroundings are immaterial, circum
stances of no moment, the divinity is
in man, in nothing else save as he i'm.
parts it. Not all the "Madonnas, -
the Holy Mothers are Jews. Far from
lit! They have theirs, and I don't be.
grudge them. But we have ours and
I'm thankful for it! If the greatest
tribute we can pay them is to paint a
beautiful likeness, let's do that
whether we do or not the race must
wait upon them. Our leaders must
come from them, our destiny is
bound up with them. A black hand
will rock the cradle which holds the
swaddled form of our future great and
greatness. We will bear them, nur-
ture them, train them, send them
forth who will win renown and bring
again their trophies to lay at the feet
of our Madonnas.
The most beautiful picture in the
world is Raphaels Madonna and the
original of that picture was Mar
gherita whom he knew and loved.
And whom shall one love more
than he loves his own, and what shall
typify his best unless it is his own,
and whom shall be enshrine in his art
and in his heart unless it is his own?
Whether he will or no he can't get
away from himself German art is
essentially German or nothing; Italian
art, French art likewise it idealizes it's
own. I am doing nothing more than
others do, nothing less when l turn
my own into saints beatified, put a
carona over their heads or place a
chaplet upon them and confidently
challenge the world to produce it's
peer.
What have we in ourselves? What
estimate do we put upon what we
have?? ...s>.,.}, g. s-,. ... g..
We cannot retain our self-respect
cannot secure the respect of others,
cannot bestir ourselves to our best
endeavors so long as whatever is
white is best and whatever is black is
worst, whatever is white is of heaven
and God and whatever is black is OF
hell and the devil, that whatever is
white is superior and whatever is
black is inferior This error due to the