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Installation artist Elias Popa presents his last post as Spark+Echo Art's 2018 Artist in Residence and showcases the completion of his gorgeous work responding to Job 38-41.

Job 38:1-24

Job 38:29-41:34

Artist in Residence 2018: Elias Popa

Elias Popa

Credits:

Curated by:

Spark & Echo Arts, Artist in Residence 2018

2018

Primary Scripture

Then Yahweh answered Job out of the whirlwind,
“Who is this who darkens counsel
by words without knowledge?
Brace yourself like a man,
for I will question you, then you answer me!
“Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth?
Declare, if you have understanding.
Who determined its measures, if you know?
Or who stretched the line on it?
Whereupon were its foundations fastened?
Or who laid its cornerstone,
when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
“Or who shut up the sea with doors,
when it broke out of the womb,
when I made clouds its garment,
and wrapped it in thick darkness,
marked out for it my bound,
set bars and doors,
and said, ‘Here you may come, but no further.
Here your proud waves shall be stayed?’
“Have you commanded the morning in your days,
and caused the dawn to know its place;
that it might take hold of the ends of the earth,
and shake the wicked out of it?
It is changed as clay under the seal,
and presented as a garment.
From the wicked, their light is withheld.
The high arm is broken.
“Have you entered into the springs of the sea?
Or have you walked in the recesses of the deep?
Have the gates of death been revealed to you?
Or have you seen the gates of the shadow of death?
Have you comprehended the earth in its width?
Declare, if you know it all.
“What is the way to the dwelling of light?
As for darkness, where is its place,
that you should take it to its bound,
that you should discern the paths to its house?
Surely you know, for you were born then,
and the number of your days is great!
Have you entered the treasuries of the snow,
or have you seen the treasures of the hail,
which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
By what way is the lightning distributed,
or the east wind scattered on the earth?

Job 38:1-24

Share This Art:

Often, like all my work, the laborious repetition of action creates a space for meditation. The individual placement of each blade of dried grass, the meticulous angling of the mirrors, and endless visual repetition of the grass itself in the mirror — these all created a space for me to think of Job.

It is perhaps easy to think of the passage in Job where he comes under the fiery arguments of God to be a scene of overwhelming fear, awe and trembling. Those aspects are definitely found there. However, I wanted to capture a deeper meaning in the story. Despite the jarring vocabulary used in this passage, I believe God was being kind to Job, allowing him to see a mere glimpse of the overwhelming presence of God.

Like a small crack in time, or a narrow gateway, like Moses, Job gets to see a fragment of God. A glimpse of eternity. An unending field in the midst of temporal circumstances.

I wanted to capture this small breath, this myopic moment, where Job sees God. A narrow gate which when passed through reveals unending creation.

Spark Notes

The Artist's Reflection

Elias Popa was born April 7, 1987 to Romanian immigrants in California. After traveling between his home in Romania and throughout the United States, he continued his travels into his adulthood by moving to China, traveling Southeast Asia, South America and working with refugees. During his travels around the world, his worldview in art was deeply impacted.

“My art expresses the struggle of identity and hope, worship and expressions of life. It explores common world views and challenges them. My work shines a light on the temporal solutions we put in place to replace what we really need deep inside”.

As an installation artist, Elias uses conventional materials such as paper, wire, thread, and clothing to evoke a deeper understanding about social structures. His aim is to solidify abstract ideas about the nuances that make up sociological structures. By doing so, he retrains the eye to build a visual literacy again and treats the art as a fundamental language. He also studied dark room photography for 10 years, as well as writes poetry.

Through his art, Elias started The Human Rights Network, a non for profit organization aimed at “telling stories that change lives.” The organization aims to build narratives through art that can impact social issues and generate activism. He currently works as a curator and manager of the esteemed Waterfall Mansion and Gallery on the Upper East Side, as well as the founder of the Human Rights Network. He resides on the Upper West Side of Manhattan where he works out of his home. He was the recipient of CFW’s artist vocational intensive, held at Princeton University. He also was selected on an Interfaith and Arts Panel at Columbia University, as well as regular participates in speaking engagements.