Monday, November 27, 2000
Alumnus pens life of ‘visionary’ artist
In 1978, a 70-year-old black farm worker in Georgia’s rural Glascock County received a call from God. Though he could neither read nor write, J.B. Murray underwent what he believed to be the inspiration of Holy Spirit, began to draw and paint flowing, erratic abstractions. Over the next 10 years, Murray created paintings of ghostly figures and elongated shapes that represented “the people what is living like God don’t exist.”
By the time of Murray’s death in 1998, his art had been shown in art galleries all over the world, from Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles to London and Tokyo.
This is the story UGA alumna Mary Padgelek tells in In the Hand of the Holy Spirit: The Visionary Art of J.B. Murray. Padgel-ek recounts Murray’s life and analyzes his art and spiritual message. Throughout history the visionary artist has sought to offer a glimpse of the eternal in the midst of a temporal world.
This book unveils the symbols, impetus and meaning of the work of Murray, who treated his work through the inspiration of his perceptions of eternity. Padgelek shows how this folk artist offered a redemptive metaphor for spiritual healing, regeneration and ultimate salvation.
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