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Aizawl, Jul 27: If many consider display of
nudity a taboo in Christianity, this priest sees the
glory of God in nudity.
Meet Stephen Rotluanga, the Catholic bishop of Aizawl
diocese and artist who specializes in unclothed human
figures and wants to portray Gods creativity in the nude
human figure.
Bishop Stephen Rotluanga’s life-sized studies of the
human figure on canvas literally stood out in the recent
exhibition of Mizoram artists at Kolkata.
The taut muscular bodies and the scowling faces of the
two naked men (one of them in a tweed cap) in Figure II
reminded one of the working class heroes of the Angry
Young Man in the films of the Sixties.
“Among the many subjects in arts, my greatest interest
lies in human figures. Human form is the crowning
achievement of God in Creation. I see Gods glory in
unclothed human figures,” the first Mizo tribal bishop
said here today. “After all, God created us nude.
Civilization clothes us,” he adds.
“Renaissance art has always been my favourite subject.
The realism involved in it is a challenge for me not
only as an artist but also as a priest. Subjects
involving human beings have always been my core area of
interest,” the priest was quoted saying by the TOI.
The 57-year-old bishop recalls that he started drawing
in the elementary schools and would draw every day. In
fact, he won a poster and landscape competition during
his junior school days.
Later he attended private art classes besides his
regular college studies in Bangalore. “In my early days
as an artist, I also used to draw landscapes and other
subjects. As time passed, I began to realize that human
figure is the most beautiful Creation of God,” he says.
Calling God the greatest artist the Bishop said: “Human
figure is His Masterpiece. The human figure is one of
the most enduring themes in the visual arts. In our
tradition as artists, it is seen as the linchpin of our
practice of visual knowledge. If you can accurately and
expressively draw or paint or sculpt the human form you
can draw anything.”
He also won first prize in theatre arts at the college,
though he considered singing his strongest point.
“People knew me as a singer in college and seminary
days, as I was a choir master,” he said.
Later, as a priest, he passed with distinction from the
Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada.
Asked how his artistic talent helps him in his pastoral
life, Rotluanga said, “It helps me a lot. The artistic
sense of trying to see the truth in things helps me to
be understanding, forgiving and accommodating.”
He added such qualities can be “applied in liturgy,
social development and all other aspects of the diocesan
administration, because art is multi-dimensional and one
can apply it in all aspects of human needs - spiritual
and social.”
“While drawing human figures, we try to see perfection
in others, not their defects,” he said. His artistic
skills also helped him a lot in interior decoration of
churches.
His paintings showcased at the first Mizo painting
exhibition in Kolkata during July 10-12 were those he
drew at the art college in Canada with live models.
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