Flathead artist’s ‘The Art of the Cross’ on display in Chicago
The Art of the Cross created by Marvin Messing, a longtime resident of the Flathead Valley, is currently on display in Chicago at St. James Episcopal Cathedral. The exhibit, which opened Feb. 26 in the Cathedral Gallery, will be open daily through Easter Sunday, April 12.
The display is composed of large, detailed original charcoal drawings and depicts the classic devotional service commemorating 14 events in Christ’s journey from Pilate’s judgement hall to Golgotha on the day of his crucifixion. Messing portrayed three further views of the story, expanding his series to 17 drawings. This time period is referred to as the Passion of Christ, The Story of the Crucifixion or The Stations of the Cross.
Although the artist is known for his colorful surrealistic paintings, he chose black and white with touches of burnt sienna for “The Art of the Cross.” Without color, Messing hoped the scenes would evoke deeper emotions as they reflect the gravity of the story. Charcoal is an essential, earthy media, and its gritty dimension brings the reality of the Good Friday story close to the viewer. The detailed drawings show Messing’s mastery of the human physique and his ability to communicate human emotion with a haunting beauty. Messing did not sign the pieces, drawing the viewer to focus on the story rather than on the artist. Each is labeled simply with the number of its station.
At the time Messing drew the pieces, he was actively involved in the inter-denominational Cursillo movement in Montana. The sketches were first viewed at a gathering in 1991 and subsequently were shown in many churches in the Flathead Valley. They were originally fashioned as a large flip chart that could be seen by a large audience accompanied by narration, but the sketches were eventually separated because viewers wished to examine the pieces more closely. Messing reinforced the back of each drawing with duct tape, so the material would not tear with repeated flipping. The duct tape remains on the back of each page, a souvenir of their original purpose.
Honoring their father’s wishes, Messing’s daughters have kept the collection available to any denomination and all people should feel welcome.
Marvin “Skeez” Messing was born in Freeport, Illinois, in 1922. He was classically trained at the Art Institute of Chicago, but World War II interrupted his studies. Because of his artistic expertise, Messing served as a map and model maker for Naval Intelligence in the South Pacific. This work involved covert exploration of Japanese-occupied islands by night and then returning to the submarine to draw the locations of enemy installations and possible invasion sites. There was a high mortality rate because the Japanese tortured the mapmakers they captured for information about planned invasions. Something evidently went terribly wrong on one of these expeditions which bothered Messing for the rest of his life. He refused to discuss the specifics of his work on his missions because it was classified, but acknowledged his war experiences profoundly influenced his art.
In civilian life, Messing managed the family sporting goods business in Freeport until 1985, however, his education and passion remained those of an artist. Messing was an oil painter, sculptor and intaglio printmaker. He believed artists have a responsibility to pose questions about the human condition and evoke emotions through art. His paintings have been described as “jewel boxes” because the canvases are relatively small, well-composed and packed with meaning. A slide show of Messing’s oil paintings will accompany the exhibit of “The Art of the Cross.”
In 1985, Messing and his wife, Ann, moved to Montana to be near their daughters, Kris Messing of Stevensville and Pam Messing Hughes of Whitefish. He continued his work as an artist and art instructor at Flathead Valley Community College. He died in 2014 at age 92 of Parkinson’s disease.
