He Qi Biography 

The artist He Qi was born in China and is currently a resident of Minnesota. He Qi has studied at Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing Art Institute in China and Hamburg Art Institute in Germany. In 2011, Qi received his Doctorate Degree in Religious Art from  the Australia Catholic University in Melbourne.

Ruth and Qi’s painting

In Qi’s painting “Ruth and Naomi”, Qi portrays Naomi, Ruth and Orpah. Qi’s  Naomi and Ruth seem to be in eachother’s arms while Orpah is seen in the background walking away from Naomi and Ruth. Ruth and Naomi are interlocked which makes it seem as if they are connected by flesh and are one. Next to Naomi and Ruth is a basket which may be food and on the background is the sun behind Ruth and Naomi representing what they are leaving behind and what Oprah is going towards, the famine in Moab.  It seems as if Oprah is crying as she stays behind in Moab, maybe Orpah was sadden by the fact that she did not have the will to stay with Naomi like did Ruth.

The part of the passage that connects with He Qi’s painting is Ruth 1:12-22. In the passage Ruth fully commits herself to Naomi and it is represented by her commitment to leave her homeland and people behind. In He Qi’s painting Ruth and Naomi seem to be connected as one which shows the commitment. Ruth’s name means “friend” or “companion” which is accurate by her actions of staying with Naomi. Ruth and Orpah had the choice of staying or leaving, Ruth being a friend to Naomi she stayed. Ruth is a Gentile, a foreigner, and yet she stayed with Naomi. While Naomi was committed to God, Ruth was committed to Naomi – “your people shall be my people, your God, my God.” The intimacy between Naomi and Ruth is being shown while they’re interlocked and the audience is not able to tell the difference between the foreigner and Naomi.

My first impression of the painting was that it looked like stained glass windows, the windows inside of a church. Aside from the color in the painting, it is noticeable that the only figures in the painting are Naomi, Ruth, Orpah, the sun, and the basket. The painting seems empty which connects to how Naomi feels with the death of her husband and her sons. In Ruth 1:21 Naomi says, “I went away full, but the lord has brought me back empty.” Naomi is  figuratively empty because she lost her family, her blood. Naomi and Ruth are slightly brighter than the rest of the painting which can symbolize the hope that Ruth brings to Naomi, she is healing her emptiness. When the audience views He Qi’s painting they are able to see the bond created between Ruth and Naomi that you unites them as one.

Bibliography

“About He Qi.” Welcome to He Qi’s New Gallery. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://www.heqiart.com/about-he-qi.html.
“Ruth and Naomi: Art in the Christian Tradition.” Ruth and Naomi: Art in the Christian Tradition. Accessed December 11, 2016. http://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=46090.

About Diana Chaidez

I am Diana Chaidez, Chicago native, Catholic and freshman. Before taking this class I had an entirely different perspective on the bible. Now, I can relate biblical passages to Art which can give a passage an entirely new meaning.