This commentary was written for the Courier, Canberra 19 December 1968 in response to my construction of Emmanuel at the Holy Cross Church and St Margaret's Parish Centre in Dickson Canberra.
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Modern Christmas decor
A CHRISTMAS decoration for the Anglican Holy Cross Church and St Margaret's Parish Centre, Dickson (Canberra), has been designed and installed by Canberra artist Arthur Wicks.
The decoration, ‘Emmanual' stands 15 feet high on the grounds outside the church and has been constructed from wood and
fibre board painted with the colours blue,
orange and sienna, using plastic latex paint.
"It is meant to convey an impression of the meaning of Christmas and signifies the meeting of
Heaven and Earth", Mr Wicks said yesterday. He said religious art was a difficult field at present in view of the ferment taking place both in the art world and the churches.
"I feel it is up to the church to take the initiative in accepting the new statement in art for the purpose of worship and greater symbolism", he said.
"In this case I was given free rein by the Holy Cross Church to design a
suitable decoration. In
fact if one wishes to speak about a creative God it goes without saying that art and the Church are inseparable — and all forms of art should be accepted by the Church for symbolism".
The assistant curate at Holy Cross Church of England, Lance Johnston, said the planning and building of the decoration had taken about a month. The Church had commissioned the artist and had provided the materials. It was a joint venture by the Holy Cross and St Margaret's
Parish Centre, the buildings being shared by Anglicans, Methodists and Presbyterians.
Last year Mr Wicks held the French scholarship that entitled him to live for four months in a studio flat for artists on the Ile de la Cite Internationale Des Arts. In all he remained in France for a year studying printmaking and painting. At present he says he is concentrating on environmental work which gives him a chance to design and paint for specific places rather than producing works that could be placed anywhere.
'Emmanuel', the Christmas decoration for Holy Cross Church and
St Margaret's Parish Centre, Dickson. The artist Arthur Wicks is beside the work.
Canberra artist Arthur Wicks, who is distinguished for his silk screen work and paintings, has now entered the sculpture field. His modernistic sculpture, Emmanuel, is on display at the Holy Cross Church Hackett and can be seen during the Christmas period.
The Courier 19 December 1968 p 11