New Stations of the Cross at Cotter

   

Students selected new Stations of the Cross for Cotter.

With all the beautiful art and architecture that is available to our students at Cotter Schools, it was recently realized that the campus did not have a set of Stations of the Cross on site. The Stations depict 15 moments of the passion of Christ from being condemned to death all the way through to his resurrection. While there are sets of Stations at the Chapel of St. Mary of the Angels and St. Mary’s Parish nearby, having a set of this powerful and prayerful set of artwork seemed like a logical next step to adorn our school. A generous benefactor has also purchased them on behalf of the school. The Stations are now on display in St. Teresa Hall in The St. Joseph Chapel, located immediately behind the St. Cecilia Theatre.

After a search for viable options, two finalist versions of the Stations of the Cross were printed and presented to junior school and high school students. One version (by Janet McKenzie) was culturally accurate with characters representing skin color and characteristics consistent with the Holy Land and was very vivid and detailed. The other set (by Jen Norton) was more abstract, but it uses a lot of color in a symbolic fashion. While there was interest in both versions, the majority of students selected the more colorful, abstract version as they indicated that the abstract images would invite them to make the story of Christ’s passion more concrete in their own minds and hearts. 

The new Stations of the Cross installation was funded with a contribution in memory of Matthew Pedretti and Lucille Pedretti.

The artist who created the Stations of the Cross has a vivid way of using abstract images while drawing you into the story at the same time. The artwork helps young people connect with how much, in a very concrete way, God loves us through the story of his life and death.

Jen Norton

Jen Norton is an award-winning painter whose work has appeared on the cover of books including Word by Word and The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion. After several years of freelance work, in 2012, she began focusing exclusively on Catholic art. She lives in San Jose California with her family.

As a contemporary Catholic artist, Norton offers a unique opportunity to ponder the extraordinary love of Christ through the Stations of the Cross. Her powerful, full-color illustrations are designed to help the viewer encounter Christ’s passion in a new light.

About the Stations

This series is intentionally more abstract and less illustrative than most of Norton’s work. She has used specific colors to illustrate some of the spiritual components

• Red is used to indicate points of pain, both physical and emotional.

• Blue represents the presence of God, Jesus’ breath and life force.

• Neutral tones represent the collective “us”. For or against Jesus, we are somewhere in the crowd. It is up to each of us how close we come or how far we stand back as he passes by.

• Black is the color of the Cross, a deep black representing the weight of our sin. As you go through the stations, notice when the cross separates Jesus from the crowd. Feel its overpowering reality when it is static and heavy and its violence when it is dynamically placed.

• White represents the Holy Spirit. See the Holy Spirit in the garments and in the sprinkles of white throughout the stations.

From the Artist

“When I decided to paint the Stations of the Cross, my objective was to prayerfully explore some of the emotions played out on that Good Friday. Using color and the placement of the Cross, I hoped to recapture some of that childhood awe. As I worked and each image took shape, I tried to enter more deeply into the scene asking, where was the pain? Where was the grace? How does it all relate to modern life? To my life?

My hope with this series is to give you another way to experience the story of Via Dolorosa (the route in Old Jerusalem Jesus took on the way to his death) - one less about rational thought and more about feeling. If my artwork enables you to go deeper into your own reflection, you might find that God reveals something new in his invitation to you”

Source: Surrender All: An Illuminated Journal Retreat through the Stations of the Cross by Jen Norton