The unclean spirits came out [of the demoniac] and entered the swine; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea, and were drowned in the sea...Then people came to see what it was that had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the demoniac sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, (Mark 5:13,14,15, NRSV)
I'm launching the What's New section in 2022 with a series highlishting images, old and new, in the Collection from Mississippi Folk Artist Carl Dixon, using the timeless narratives of the Bible to comment on events of our time. After an angry mob attacked the U.S. Capitol a year ago, he created this carved wood panel painting giving a contemporary spin on the Gospel story of the Gadarene swine, where Jesus heals a demon-possessed man by sending the evil legion within him into a rampaging herd of pigs. Americans, Dixon suggests, also need to turn Christ to be exorcised of a mob mentality of hatred, prejudice, and callous indifference to the needs of others now dividing the nation. (John Kohan)