By Michael Jezewak
Honorable Mention, Visual (2D), Create | Encounter 2023
Artist Statement:
The Storm Chasers unites figures who are often touted within opposing political or ideological camps but who are, by the grace of Baptism, equal members in the Body of Christ. Each person featured in this work is an inspiration for how we might live out the Consistent Life Ethic in our unique vocations and stages of life.
Through the work’s composition and title, the artist places it in dialogue with the late John August Swanson’s 2021 painting The Storm, which depicts determined migrants rowing through treacherous waters. The collagist here compiles layers of Marian colors, symbols, and even poetry (Dana Gioia’s “Psalm to Our Lady Queen of the Angels” on the boat’s hull) to answer the question, “How has the Church gone out to aid those facing life’s storms?”
Pictured from left to right:
St. Joseph
Jesus
Unknown woman in St. Oscar Romero shirt
Blessed Virgin Mary street art, aka “Gas Mask Mary"
Servant of God Dorothy Day
Fr. John Dear
Peter Maurin
Sean Carney
Unknown volunteer and unknown participant at a San Diego retreat for people with special needs
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Fr. Louis, O.C.S.O., aka Thomas Merton
St. Ignatius of Loyola
Fr. Douglas Al-Bazi
Matt Harper
St. Kateri Tekakawitha
Emahoy Haregewein
Two unknown Catholic women advocating for the DREAM Act
Servant of God Thea Bowman
Mary Lou Williams
Robert Ellsberg
Unknown Latino man advocating for family unity in the U.S. immigration process
Corita Kent
Daniel Rudd
Justice Amy Coney Barrett
Unknown baby with a rosary and a “Pray to End Abortion” sign
Venerable Augustus Tolton
Fr. Ronald Rolheiser, O.M.I.
St. Maximilian Kolbe
St. Francis of Assisi
Fr. Daniel Berrigan, S.J.