Greek Art That Speaks To The Soul
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In the hyper-connected world of today where cultural trends change almost as fast as our Facebook status, Diamantis Cassis’ art is a welcome respite from our lives. His work is the antithesis of our modern times, and he is bringing his Byzantine iconography to the McCoy Pavilion for the 29th annual Greek Festival Saturday and Sunday.
The icons of the Greek Orthodox Church date back to the dawn of Christianity, and their style has changed little since the 4th entury. For the uninitiated, icons are the paintings and murals that adorn Orthodox churches portraying Biblical scenes and saints. In ancient times they served as a tool to educate an illiterate public and today serve to remind believers of their God. “The icon serves as a form of inspiration. It is to the eye the same as the music is to the ear, the incense is to the smell, veneration to the touch and Holy Communion to the taste,” explains Cassis, a Houston resident who has been painting icons for close to half a century.
They link believers not just to their past, but to their faith. While most art forms are constantly evolving, iconography holds stubbornly to its roots because it is not an expression of an individual, but of the divine.
“Iconography is not art for art’s sake, but art for the edification of mankind,” says Cassis. “It is not the expression of only one person, but the expression of the historical Christian church, its traditions and Holy Scripture.”
While they may appear simple in their structure, a single icon can take weeks to produce. The almost cartoonish style of the subjects is very deliberate.
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“The eyes of the saint will be rather large, symbolizing faith in God,” says Cassis, who immigrated to America after World War II. “The nose will be long and slender, denoting dignity. The mouth will be small, the ears large indicating humility and obedience to God by being able to listen more to His Word and speaking very little.”
Even the perspective in the pictures is reversed to send a message. In most paintings, artists use the vanishing point perspective, where things in the distance shrink until they “vanish” in the painting. In iconography, all items appear to be in the forefront, reminding us of what is truly eternal.
“This art will look abstract and unnatural because of its inverse visual perspective where the vanishing point will not be somewhere in the picture, but in the eye of the viewer,” says Cassis. “The scene will expand rather than diminish, symbolizing that we, the viewers, live in a finite world and we gaze at a window of eternity.”
The subjects of the icons are also crafted to eliminate their sensuality. Rather than eyelashes, they are given but thin lines. Everyone in the painting is facing forward, as profiles were seen as a sign of negation. The figures are always gaunt, to show their piety and dismissal of worldly desires.
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To the iconographer, painting an outwardly beautiful creature would distract viewers from concentrating on the saints’ inner spiritual realm.
Cassis first felt himself drawn to the art in the 1960s when as a young Army officer he was introduced to it by a friend. Feeling it not only spoke to his heritage but to his beliefs in the divine, he began producing pieces and has found his work to always be in demand.
His art brought him to Honolulu the first time in 1990 when he lectured here on a grant from the Hawaii Committee of the Humanities.
This visit should be a little less formal in the setting of the Greek Festival, a yearly gathering of a few Greeks and a lot of wannabe Greeks enjoying some baklava, ouzo and Greek folk dancing in Ala Moana Park.
Cassis will be demonstrating and explaining the process and history behind the icons, bringing along his works in varying stages of completion to help one better understand this ancient art form.
Before beginning an icon, you must have a clear vision of what you are about to create.
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“If I am painting for myself, I can change my mind in the middle of the painting and go in a completely different direction,” says Cassis. “Whereas with an icon you must start and finish the idea you began with. It’s a very disciplined concept.”
He starts with a pencil sketch of the drawing, he then traces those lines using an Exacto knife to cut in the lines he will later paint. Next is the gold leaf that became a standard for icons during the 15th century, serving as an expression of piety. It must be painstakingly applied then varnished to prevent it from scratching.
Now he can begin the work of bringing the image to life, and here is one of the few places the art form has deviated - what was once an egg-based paint has been replaced by acrylics.
“We believe it will allow our icons to last longer as the acrylics have an elasticity that prevents the paint from cracking,” says Cassis.
Even with new mediums, the focus of the art is the same: it serves to remind believers of their faith and its history over the past two millennia.
So Cassis invites everyone down to experience this ancient art, eat some souvlaki and take some pictures.
Wouldn’t those be ironic on your Facebook page?
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