Modern iconography by Kelly Latimore
For this Episcopal iconographer, migrants and refugees are ‘images of God in plain sight’ by Egan Millard (published by Episcopal News Service in 2021)
[Episcopal News Service] You may not know Kelly Latimore’s name, but if you’ve been active on any Christian social media pages in the past few years, you’ve probably seen his work. His modern take on the centuries-old tradition of iconography presents familiar biblical scenes in unexpected ways – such as a pietà scene with a fallen Jesus who looks like George Floyd – as well as saintly depictions of modern figures from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Marsha P. Johnson.
One of his most widely shared images – “La Sagrada Familia” – shows the Flight into Egypt with the Holy Family depicted as Latin American migrants. Painted the day after the 2016 presidential election, the icon went viral on social media and ended up serving as the cover art for a collection of Pope Francis’ writings on welcoming migrants and refugees. That icon and others like it have drawn both praise and criticism, but above all, they have showcased the power of visual art to spark dialogue and draw connections between the ancient and contemporary.
This icon holds a lot of meaning. It was painted for The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio.
[Episcopal News Service] You may not know Kelly Latimore’s name, but if you’ve been active on any Christian social media pages in the past few years, you’ve probably seen his work. His modern take on the centuries-old tradition of iconography presents familiar biblical scenes in unexpected ways – such as a pietà scene with a fallen Jesus who looks like George Floyd – as well as saintly depictions of modern figures from Dietrich Bonhoeffer to Marsha P. Johnson.
This icon holds a lot of meaning. It was painted for The Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Athens, Ohio.
The people of the parish were an integral part to our mission, work, and community life of the Good Earth Farm were I lived and worked for six years. The community at the farm grew and gleaned produce for the many food pantries in the area, inviting anyone in the Athens community to join us planting, harvesting and delivering food, to collecting eggs, feeding pigs and searing sheep. There is much to be said about the conversations and connection that comes from weeding an entire row of carrots with a complete stranger. Our real work was about communion.
We hoped our work as farmers brought us a greater connection to Creation and the marginalized. We hoped to be a sign for the dignity of work and the reverent use of resources. We wished to balance the roles and responsibilities that uplift the common good while respecting the individuals need for creativity and autonomy. To be signs of peace while working side by side.
Most Shepherds in Jesus’ day would spend weeks with their flock out in the wilderness. The Shepherd would even drink the milk of the ewes for sustenance. He needed them as much as they needed him. The Good Shepherd is a sign that the world-like humanity-is a place where God communes with us. The relationship of humanity to creation isn’t just to ensure its flourishing, or prevent its extinction or worse, consume our allotted share of it and dominate it. It is to bring creation into the relationship of praise and thanksgiving, and see it all, and our very lives, as gifts.
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| “La Sagrada Familia” immigrant impression depicting the flight into Egypt (Matthew, chapters 2:13–23) by Kelly Latimore. |
ENS: How did you get started making icons?
LATIMORE: I had always done art – went to school for art. A priest living with us asked me if I’d ever tried painting an icon and I hadn’t, so I just dived headfirst into books and went to visit a few churches that had icons and did what all artists do. I just started tracing the old icons and learning the form and the colors and their meaning. After a while I was interested in trying my first original icon, and it was based on our common experience on the farm, thinking about how we can be like, in Jesus’ words, the lilies of the field. So that became the focus of my first icon. The community really embraced it because it was a part of our common experience, which is really meaningful to me, but that also showed me how sacred art can be a placeholder for thought and prayer but, most importantly, our action and the way that we’re in the world together.
ENS: How do you approach the balance between traditional iconography and your own style?
LATIMORE: What I hope that my work can do is take all these metaphors and symbols that have been around for a long time and just carry them into the present.
LATIMORE: I had always done art – went to school for art. A priest living with us asked me if I’d ever tried painting an icon and I hadn’t, so I just dived headfirst into books and went to visit a few churches that had icons and did what all artists do. I just started tracing the old icons and learning the form and the colors and their meaning. After a while I was interested in trying my first original icon, and it was based on our common experience on the farm, thinking about how we can be like, in Jesus’ words, the lilies of the field. So that became the focus of my first icon. The community really embraced it because it was a part of our common experience, which is really meaningful to me, but that also showed me how sacred art can be a placeholder for thought and prayer but, most importantly, our action and the way that we’re in the world together.
ENS: How do you approach the balance between traditional iconography and your own style?
LATIMORE: What I hope that my work can do is take all these metaphors and symbols that have been around for a long time and just carry them into the present.
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