Pictures in Focus: Palimpsest Portraits of Jesus and Martin Luther King by Tyrus Clutter

April 22, 2018

Pictures in Focus: Palimpsest Portraits of Jesus and Martin Luther King by Tyrus Clutter

Fifty years ago this month, American Civil Rights Leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. To honor this fourth generation Baptist minister from Georgia who was inspired by his Christian faith to struggle for racial equality by non-violent means, I have two new color viscosity prints by American Graphic Artist Tyrus Clutter to present this week showing a portrait of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate alongside the famous Warner Sallman Head of Christ. The Florida-based printmaker was inspired by writings of the Early Christian Desert Fathers describing how we should look for the face of Christ in everyone we meet to creat a print series, pairing well-known depictions of Jesus with pictures of famous historical personalities like this double portrait just added to the Tyrus Clutter profile page in the Sacred Artists section. The faces take shape from a layering of texts taken from the 4th century writings of these Egyptian hermits and monks, whose message, says Clutter, can be summed up in one phrase: “We should treat everyone with the dignity and respect with which we would treat Jesus." (John Kohan)