Please see Styx thread on the Registered Shipmates consultation for the main discussion forums - your views are important, continues until April 4th.
Ship of Fools: Ely Cathedral, England
The Mystery Worshipper
Shipmate
Ship of Fools: Ely Cathedral, England
Formal, well-choreographed Epiphany service 'moved expeditiously'
Read the full Mystery Worshipper report here
Comments
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/DBEB6P/ely-cathedral-lady-chapel-virgin-mary-statue-modern-statue-by-david-DBEB6P.jpg
Personally, I'd call it 'striking', rather than 'outrageous', but YMMV.
I'm not sure as to why Our Lady is portrayed in this way - to me, she looks Very Cross, and as if she's about to shout sweary-words...
A Norty Thort - maybe the Annunciation is taking place, and things are happening, or being said, that St Luke has seen fit not to tell us?
I have several connotations when I look at her.
Her upraised arms are a perfect copy of the upraised arms of a referee signaling a touchdown or field goal in American Football. If I were sitting in a service in Ely cathedral I would not be able to shake off this association.
She is not the typical meek and mild Mary that is presented in medieval works of art. In Germany we would call this Mary a "Powerfrau", a strong-willed woman who knows how to assert herself. Apparently, the sculptor wanted to present the powerful effect which Mary has had on history by consenting to be the mother of the Lord.
Her royal blue dress and gold hair and belt imply the royalty which she has as mother of the Messiah-King.
However, Mary traditionally wears a blue cloak in Christian art because she is the equivalent of the Arc of the Covenant - the dwelling place of Divine Presence - which was covered by a blue cloth during the Desert Sojourn of Israel. Christian art is heavily influenced by the symbolism contained in the story of Israel.
But when all is said and done, I would not like to have this Mary in my home church; she would be a big distraction for me.
Yes, a rather angry milkmaid...who perhaps has just accidentally kicked over a bucket...
But thanks, @Portola, for your thoughts and explanations. She certainly looks like a 'Powerfrau'!
I guess the purpose of the statue was to get people away from the traditional image of Mary, and, indeed, to shock.
One wonder how this got through the Chapter and the Fabric Advisory Committee...
I still think she looks Cross, though.
https://sr.gallerix.ru/C/965973421/1380106576.jpg
I'll admit, my initial reaction was similar to others here, but each time I look at it, it grows on me a little. Whether it is in the right place is a whole 'nother question.
Is it in the right place? Possibly not, but a friend of our Madam Sacristan lives in Ely, and is a member of the Cathedral congregation.
When she (the friend, that is, not Our Blessed Lady) next comes to visit, I'll try to remember to ask her what local opinion might be - though (as has been intimated earlier) the Dean & Chapter, and the rest of TPTB, must have thought it a Good Idea.
Moving it would help. Even unblocking the window behind it would be a gesture in the direction of appreciating the building, rather than imposing our own taste on it.
It does indeed look as though there is a blocked-up window behind the statue, but it may have been filled in long before the statue was installed. Perhaps a local-ish Shipmate - if such there be - might know more?
That picture does give a much better idea of the statue, in context, than the one to which I linked.
I now have an image of the clergy at the altar - whether they face east or west - shrinking somewhat from the fear of whatever Our Lady is throwing landing on their head(s)...
I suppose her hands and arms are supposed to be in an orans position. But yeah.
IIRC, Ely (which is a tad off the beaten track, away in the wilds of the Fen country) has a bit of a reputation for providing a home for artworks of various types. Not that that is a Bad Thing per se.
Is the statue of Our Lady a permanent fixture, or has it only a temporary home here?
I didn't realise it had been there for 20 years, though, so it can hardly be classed as a 'temporary' exhibit...
And she's put on a bit of weight in late years...but yes, at the time of her appearances on TV, she was not unlike the statue...or t'other way around...
If it's supposed to represent the moment of the Magnificat, it doesn't, to me, express any appreciation that what makes the most Blessed Theotokos special is that she is chosen to be the mother of Jesus and to fulfil her role in the Incarnation. It seems to be interested only in her, separately. Whether that's because the sculptor isn't able enough to express any more than that, or whether that was his intention, who can say? So I suppose one could argue that it leaves it open to question whether this is predominantly bad art or bad theology.
That's what I think, anyway.
"Where are the iconoclasts now that we really need them?"
I wish I'd said that.
https://google.co.uk/search?q=sculpture+at+ely+cathedral&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwia6oL0x5XnAhXEShUIHbKJA1oQ_AUoAXoECA4QAw&biw=1093&bih=538#imgrc=_&spf=1579639578475
Amongst those images (sic), which is the Feibusch? I'm guessing this one:
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/A0CRC1/sculpture-of-christ-inside-the-west-tower-ely-cathedral-cambridgeshire-A0CRC1.jpg
"The Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head."
I now know a bit more about the statue of the Virgin. It was designed by David Wynne and carved by Derek Carr. The same combination produced the Christ on the West front of Wells, after which they gave up the whole idea of replacing the worn statues with new work.
I am coming round more and more to the Islamic idea of doing without the human form in religious art.