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ONE through ZERO,
Sculpture installation by Robert Indiana (born 1928),
Conceived 1966 – 2006,
Cor-ten steel
© 2018 Morgan Art Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo by Christopher Stach |
Jesus raised his eyes to heaven and said:
‘Holy Father, I pray not only for these, but for those also who through their words will believe in me.
May they all be one. Father, may they be one in us, as you are in me and I am in you, so that the world may believe it was you who sent me. I have given them the glory you gave to me, that they may be one as we are one. With me in them and you in me, may they be so completely one that the world will realise that it was you who sent me and that I have loved them as much as you loved me. Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they may always see the glory you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Father, Righteous One, the world has not known you, but I have known you, and these have known that you have sent me. I have made your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love with which you loved me may be in them, and so that I may be in them.’ |
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| Reflection on the Sculpture Installation
“People don’t stop to think about how beautiful numbers are. Perhaps for the same reason that they don’t stop to think about how beautiful words are. […] It’s the role of the artist—my particular role, if you will—to make words and numbers very, very special.” —Robert Indiana.
In our reading today we hear the word of Jesus, using the number One: ‘may they be completely one’. This oneness Jesus is referring to is telling us that we are all part of one larger whole. Whilst we all live separate, different and unique lives, we are all part of a larger whole. As we evolve and the world around us evolves, we may be tempted to over-stress our own individuality in our separation, but ultimately, we are dependent on the one whole… God. Just like a few days ago we discussed how the branches in the vine together form one vine, today Jesus reminds us in our reading how we as members of a body, are one body and members of one another…
Robert Indiana has had a lifelong fascination with numbers, as one of the most fundamental organising principles of the world. We are indeed immersed in numbers from the day we are born. Looking at this photograph, we all probably have a favourite number we zoom in on. A number which is individual and personal to us. Or even merely the colours; we like one colour combination more than another. But ultimately… they are all individual numbers, forming a larger whole… A oneness in the artwork itself…
by Patrick van der Vorst |  | |
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