One has to be careful about portraying the demonic visually, even if one is portraying it as evil. When I set out to draw something in response to the idolatrous worship of Pachamama at the Vatican, my first idea was an image of Pachamama as the Whore of Babylon, sitting on a draconic beast with seven heads and ten horns. I started sketching but then I thought, I could see people regarding this image as awesome and metal. It was the sort of thing I could imagine someone getting a tattoo of.
There is an appreciation for abrasive and macabre images that can be completely healthy, encompassing acknowledgement of death and the need for righteous fury. But when the demonic enters in and is exalted, the truthful-yet-unpleasant celebration of darker aspects of life is twisted into an inversion of the good, just as every evil is something good inverted and perverted.
Especially nowadays, when overt Satanism is being pushed in TV, music, fashion, and even children's books, one must be careful how one depicts the demonic. What would, in saner times, be properly regarded as a warning of how evil something is now might be taken as an embrace of its power.
Thus, I made St. Michael the focus of the picture, gloriously and ragefully smiting the demon. Pray that he does thus to all evil spirits that prowl the earth seeking the ruin of souls. And remember that tomorrow is a day of fasting and reparation for the Pachamama idolatry.
2 comments:
Aaaaaand....I need to cover this.
This picture is awesome for what it conveys.
You're welcome to use the picture for any posting, by the way!
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