PORTRAIT / FIGURATIVE 2nd PLACE WINNER

The Kiss of Consecration is a dramatic contemporary interpretation of Joan of Arc’s vision of St. Michael, St. Margaret, and St. Catherine instructing her to defend the French countryside from the invading English. The central figures are intentionally anachronistic, with modern hair and tattoos alluding to the contemporary narrative, and the composition ambiguous. The wings that embrace them seem to simultaneously come from both characters and Joan of Arc wears a halo rather than the figure she believes to be Saint Michael. He materializes behind her, his full form obscured, whispering intimately into her ear and arming her with an allusion to St. Michael’s flaming sword. His titular kiss is reminiscent of Judas’ kiss, the kiss of death, indicative of his sinister nature. He is a representation of the religious ideology that compelled Joan to take up arms, and of the church who burned her at the stake then later claimed her as a saint. Saint Margaret and Saint Catherine look on in trepidation with Joan’s armor and battle standard, knowing that she is doomed to the same fate they suffered. Historically, all three women died young as martyrs of the church. Three nearby ravens appear as omens of their death. Notably, the models chosen for the three figures are of different nationalities - Dominican, Mexican, and American - suggesting that the message of the painting is globally broad. Paired with its frame, this painting is presented in a theatrical proscenium with everything arranged for the viewer as if the actions are taking place on a stage. The large scale of the artwork allows it to visually appear as a doorway to be walked through. The artist hand-built the frame specifically as a companion to this painting - the two together a single, unified piece.