They Were Promised Bread But Given Stones

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?" Matthew 7:9
The world, and by that I mean the secular, non-christian culture, even though some in the culture may have compassion, do not know how to give good gifts, according to the Scripture.

To understand the term "gifts" one has to understand the word "bread" in the context of the Scripture. The piece above was created with the understanding that the word "bread" means more than a food staple.

Bread in the Middle Eastern culture at the time of Christ embodies more than a food staple. Christ's parables must be seen in context of the culture Christ lived in. While the image (above) is contemporary so our culture can visually relate to the symbolism, the meaning extends back to the time of Christ. The content can not be fully understood unless one is enlightened as to the importance of the term "bread". According to author Kenneth Bailey, Middle Eastern villagers eat their meals by breaking off small pieces of bread and dipping them into the common dish. The very word bread has strong emotional overtones that is missing in English. "A man does not work to make a living but to eat bread." Middle Eastern speech is full of idiomatic references to bread. Life itself is called "the eating of bread." In the Lord's Prayer we ask for bread, not food. So the title of this work embodies much more than just filling one's stomach.

Symbolism of the chair is liken to the "seat of government and culture" corrupt, weak, broken. The boxes are empty. The figure is in tension with the chair. Not even on the same spatial plane or of similar size. The chair has a small string tying some of the rungs together, the paint is peeling..... and the overwhelming pile of stones. All contribute to the content of the piece.

There may be a sequel(s) to this piece in the back of my mind. To continue what Christ is saying in Matthew........verse 10. "Or if he asks for a fish, will [he] give him a snake ?

The work is about 4 foot by 6 foot and is graphite ( pencil) drawing on lennox 100.

Often I am asked how much time did it take you to do this or that..... with regards to this piece I quit counting hours after I passed 300.