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In "The Cross of The Millennium", Frederick Hart has created a transcendental masterwork of historical and spiritual significance, dedicated to the millennium and in honor of the 2,000 year anniversary of Christ's birth. Hart's work is truly unique in both concept and execution. The embedded Christ figure, seen rising through the faceted Star of Bethlehem, marks the first time the birth, death and resurrection have been simultaneously depicted in a single work of art. These events, when viewed as a single impulse of the Creator, transcend religious boundaries and become a powerful symbol of peace, hope, and universal brotherhood of man.
"Cross of the Millennium"
Lucite
State II - 11 3/4'' height
"Cross of the Millennium"
Lucite
1/3 life size
Also
Special Church Empowerment program
:
Hart agreed that the monetary consideration necessary to own one of his works was such that, in order for many institutions to acquire this work, donations of one kind or another would have to be considered. He subsequently instituted "The Church Empowerment Program", in which a quantity of donors would give a portion of the purchase price, and the church would pay the remainder. The purchase price is split into 4 equal portions, of roughly Reference number 10,000. per. Three donors will each contribute Reference number 10,000. to the church for the purpose of acquiring the "Cross of the Millennium". The church will also contribute Reference number 10,000.Or each Donor gives Reference number 13,333 to amount Reference number 40,000.
Each of the three donors
will receive, as a gift for the donation, a smaller version of the "Cross
of the Millennium" (State II) This will serve as the reminder of
their part in the acquisition of one of the most historic works in Twentieth
century sculpture.
For centuries,
Art and religion have been undeniably intermingled.
The Pharaoh's architect and
the forerunner of the Pyramids, Imhotep (c. 2650
B.C.), used his art and architecture to ensure the Pharaohs a swift and
leisurely journey into the afterlife. Giotto's (Giotto
di Bondone, c.1266-1337) Arena Chapel in 1305-1306, is thought of as one of
the finest examples frescos in the world. Even Salvador Dali's
(1904-1989) use of religious iconography became some of his most common and
recognizable images.
The renaissance period gave
rise to the modern forms of art and architecture with religious purpose.
The Gothic style cathedrals that sprang up throughout Europe in the 12th Century
became symbolic of the ascension into Heaven. The higher, the better. In
the early 16th Century, the architect Bramante (Donato
d'Angelo, 1444-1514) set to course what has become one of the most historic
sites of Art and religious worship in history, the replacement of the Constantine
Basilica (Old St. Peter's) with the New St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican in
Rome. The commission originally granted by Pope Julius II, in 1505, the job
finally fell to a dynamic sculptor who had been a perennial part of the artwork
in the complex, Michelangelo (Michelangelo Buonarroti,
1475-1564). In the classic-style, he designed the plan to incorporate a
simplified version of Bramante's original plan. That plan was a series of
architectural crosses. He felt that was the heart of the Church, The Cross. His
designs have inspired artists in the centuries to follow to involve the cross in
portions of the works dedicated to the Church, Basilica and Papacy.
While working as a young
sculptor at Washington National Cathedral, American Sculptor
Frederick E. Hart (1943- 1999) became enraptured with
the idea of creation. The building committee decided early on to break the
tradition of dedicating the west facade to the Last Judgment scene, as shown the
classical Gothic style. The commission instead decided to use the idea of
creation, also echoed in Rowan le Compte west rose window in stained glass. Hart
set aside two years to earn the commission for the tympanum area above the main
doors on the West facade of the Cathedral just below the Rose window. His
creation "Ex Nihilo", inspired by the writings of Pierre Thielhard de
Chardin "The Divine Milieu" and "The Phenomenon of Man", was
representative of mankind becoming conscious of itself. "I chose the theme
of metamorphosis" Hart says, "Plants and figures taking form, emerging
out of a sea of nothingness to symbolize the concept and the act of creation:
chaos transformed into order, nothingness into reality". This work came to
symbolize the dawning of a new concept in sculpture- Change. The work that had
taken him over became over nearly fifteen years of sculpting in Indiana
limestone, what has been regarded as one of the most prominent religious
sculptures created. In the years following Hart's untimely death at only
55, this sculpture has become a Mecca of sorts. A location worthy of pilgrimage.
It has been called the "Sistine Chapel for the United States". It set
in motion an idea that came to fruition nearly two decades later.
"I first became intrigued with clear acrylic resin when I was working on
the National Cathedral... In stone the figures emerge from a solid mass. Here
(in clear acrylic) the figures are opaque and disappear into the light creating
a spiritual relationship between light and form, and a sense of mystery around
being and non-being". In
1976, Hart was appointed to the Sacred Arts Commission for the Archdiocese of
Washington. He then created a processional cross in silver for Pope John Paul's
II historic mass on the Mall in Washington D.C. in 1979. This is the precursor
to works that would carry his sculpture into the public's eye. Working with
technicians skilled in resin casting, he refined the casting and refining procedure
over the next several years and, in 1992, unveiled "Cross of the
Millennium". This was a larger work that many of the
"home" sized works that he was doing at the time. At 31 inches and 85
pounds, it was a sculpture that was deserving of an institution. It was unveiled
on Easter Sunday 1992 at Arlington National Cemetery, and immediately was hailed
as a bastion of heroic proportions, now worthy of the most notable of
placements, including The Vatican.
"The translucent
acrylic resin material and the new technology allow for the creation of
sculpture made of pure light- the very symbol of Christ." Hart
states. "The work is designed so that the birth, the death, and the
mystery of the resurrection are seen simultaneously as a single impulse of the
Creator."
on the front of the cross is
a stylized version of the star of Bethlehem, representing birth. The cross form
itself is representative of the death, and the ethereal rising is representative
of the resurrection. The hovering Christ, with head and arms raised is
contrasted from the past views of the Christ figure with head down. This is a
positive view. An enlightened view, and something that had never been done in
the history of art.
A special edition of the
"Cross" was presented to Pope John Paul II on the occasion of his 77th
Birthday in 1997. His Holiness proclaimed "This work represents a
profound theological statement for our day."
Donald Martin Reynolds' writes in his text "Masters of American Sculpture:
a Figurative Tradition" calls the cross "Hart's Lucite hieroglyph
of the Redemption", and goes on "Because over the centuries the
Redemption has fostered human concerns and values that are universal to
humankind and not limited to any single religious belief, Hart cast an edition
of 175 crosses, one for each of the member nations of the United Nations at the
time of issue." The editioned work has been placed in homes and
institutions world-wide, and seen by art lovers, critics, theologians,
historians and people of all religious affiliation, as not just a work that
represents one religious view, but a historical perspective. It is
the final sculpture in the text. Representing the transition point between
Twentieth Century sculpture and Twenty-First Century sculpture. A Twentieth
Century sculpture in a Twenty-First Century material.