![]() Giuliani’s work brings a much-needed celebration of these cultures to the public eye, showing us the beauty in ways of life besides our own. Native Americans and their way of life have all too often been marginalized-both in the past and in the present. These common threads of religious experience can also be seen in Giuliani’s penchant for reenvisioning classical religious motifs-whether the annunciation, images of the Madonna and child, or depictions of angels and popular saints. A youthful holy family is completely integrated into their natural environment, surrounded by lush foliage. For example, he draws on both biblical accounts of God’s relationship to creation and the Native American concept of “grand ecology.” Prolific orange trees burst with fruit as they frame Mary and Joseph at their wedding. His paintings draw on Christianity and Native American spiritualities to show how closely some of our commitments parallel. There is a deep convergence of spiritual kinship between Giuliani and the people he depicts. The painting celebrates Mary and Joseph’s openness to God’s unfolding plan of salvation and honors how the tribe’s culture memorializes such commitments. Each flower petal, ribbon, and fiber is carefully rendered and woven into a harmonious whole. One has only to gaze upon the masterful Marriage of Mary and Joseph to recognize Giuliani’s tremendous admiration for the Native American peoples and their cultures. While technically impressive, his art also expresses a love for Native American peoples and their own artistry, which comes to the fore in each of his paintings. Giuliani’s obvious deep respect for the people he depicts and distinct iconographic style offer audiences a glimpse into a spiritual perspective that, while different from European Christianity, has much to teach audiences about our relationship to God. These works not only sparked a wave of critical interest in his art but also encouraged him to dive deeper artistically and spiritually into an unfamiliar worldview-one predating the arrival of Christianity in the United States. A classically trained iconographer with a great love for beauty, a meticulous eye for detail, and a researcher’s disposition, he quickly produced 22 pieces of art over the course of a year. But what could he do? As an artist, priest, and person of Italian descent, he wanted to do something to make his own personal reparation for the atrocities of the past.įather Giuliani threw himself into creating paintings that celebrated the lives and cultures of indigenous peoples. His knowledge of the violence, suffering, and oppression the Native American peoples endured contrasted sharply with the upcoming national celebration of European “discovery” of the Americas. In 1990, as the country prepared to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Christopher Columbus, something in Father John Giuliani’s heart recoiled.
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