Things Seen & Unseen pt.2 Every Creation Has a Creator

 

Creation - L1527 IRS, 2023

Oil pastel & acrylic on paper

19” x 11”

Art is full of choices and each work is the result of a series of decisions which an artist has made. These choices sometimes happen consciously; an artist may make selections of media or tools for a specific purpose to achieve a desired effect, for example. Other times, these choices happen unconsciously; artistic decisions may stem from intuition, the Holy Spirit’s guidance, or plain old personal aesthetic. Whatever the case may be, the fact remains that every line, every brush stroke, and every smudge of color exists because someone put it there.

The piece that I have to share with you this week is a crazy oil pastel painting named, Creation - L1527 IRS. Creation - L1527 IRS is one of my brand new pieces currently on display at Lyfe Coffee. I have shared a little bit about my new show at Lyfe in my recent posts. But for those of you who are just tuning in, my current exhibition is all about COLOR! Specifically God’s crazy color palette. If I had to choose one piece as the poster-child for the theme of this show Creation - L1527 IRS would most definitely be it! 

Believe it or not, Creation - L1527 IRS is not an abstract piece and its subject is very much rooted in reality. A hint to this painting’s inspiration lies in the name: “L1527 IRS.” L1527 IRS is the official astronomical designation assigned to one particular celestial body - a protostar. And this isn’t just any protostar, this protostar is up to something big.

This image of the nebula L1527, captured by Webb’s Near-Infrared Camera (NIRCam), shows compass arrows, scale bar, and color key for reference.

L1527 and Protostar (NIRCam Compass Image) Credits: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI 

IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI) 

retrieved from: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/2022/055/01GGWDM6BZQJK5K7XAE3HH3SM8

So how did we, humanity, even become aware of this object? And how on Earth did we get a picture of it!? (pardon the pun). Why I’m so happy you asked ;). This image came to us courtesy of the new James Webb Space Telescope. According to NASA, “The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest, most powerful space telescope ever built.” This huge optical telescope was launched in December of 2021 and contains an array of revolutionary sensors and cameras. Among those are powerful infrared cameras which permit us to see colors and light beyond our visible spectrum. Because of this technology we are able to actually see L1527 IRS and the cosmic event happening around it in all its rainbow glory.

The complete optical telescope element on display inside a clean room at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, in 2017. 

credits: NASA/Desiree Stover - image retrieved from: https://webbtelescope.org/contents/media/images/4255-Image?page=20&filterUUID=91dfa083-c258-4f9f-bef1-8f40c26f4c97

From the moment I first laid eyes on the image of L1527 IRS I was mesmerized. I was completely enthralled in the splendid explosion of its rainbow hues, though I had no idea what was visually happening in this photograph. After a little online investigation, I discovered the “what” of this photo and it was so much more amazing than anything I could have conjured in my imagination. 

Allow me to explain; the protostar (L1527 IRS) is the bright point in the center of this image. Currently this baby star is enveloped in a protoplanetary disk, this is the small dark ellipse at the very center of the image. The beautiful rainbow clouds on either side are the result of gasses being carved out from the surrounding Taurus cloud and pulled toward the forming star. These concave areas are being illuminated by bursts of unstoppable light shooting out from L1527 IRS and its planetary disk. The incredible rainbow colors of this hourglass formation are only visible in the infrared spectrum and had previously been undetectable to us.1 

“Oh, that’s so pretty and kind of cool,” you might be thinking to yourself, but there is so much more going on here. You see, L1527 IRS is not just putting on a pretty light show, this protostar is up to something incredible. This particular protostar is in the process of drawing in gas and particulates from the surrounding cloud to form a new solar-system. L1527 IRS is giving birth to a new solar-system and JWST has given us a picture of it! Scientists theorize that this image might resemble what our own solar-system looked like when it was created.2 Do you know what that means, guys? This image is an honest to goodness GOD ART PROCESS PIC! Is your mind blown yet? Because mine sure was.

The idea of God the Artist has always fascinated me. I often try to imagine in my daydreams what God was thinking when He made His creations. What did He feel when He put those colors, on those leaves, on that tree? Did He smile with delight as He painted it? Did He step back and gaze at His new creation with satisfaction as if to say, “there! That’s just what that tree needed.” 

So what was God’s artistic intention with L1527 IRS, why did He create it? Why did He reveal it to us via JWST? And why did He choose to use ALL the colors… both the colors we can see and the ones that exist beyond our perception? I believe that the answer to all these questions lies in God’s artist statement - the Bible. The first verse of Psalm 19 tells us very clearly that “the heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” (Psalm 19:1 NIV). Could it be that simple? Does this breathtaking cosmic masterpiece exist solely to declare the glory of God? 

L1527 and Protostar - Release ID: 2022-055 credits: SCIENCE: NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI 

IMAGE PROCESSING: Joseph DePasquale (STScI), Alyssa Pagan (STScI), Anton M. Koekemoer (STScI) retrieved from:https://webbtelescope.org/contents/news-releases/2022/news-2022-055

Consider this: when you see a painting in a gallery or a museum do you question that there was a painter? I think most rational people would say: “no.” Even if the painting is unattributed, even if the painting is ancient and the person who created it is long dead, I think most of us are ok drawing the conclusion that someone somewhere painted that painting.  Plain and simple: if there is a creation, there was once a creator. As an artist I can tell you with total confidence that art does not just spontaneously generate. Art is the result of time, energy, and thought. The Mona Lisa did not just randomly form itself from lifeless blobs of paint. David did not erupt from a chunk of marble and appear one day perfectly sculpted. There is an artist behind every work of art. And behind every work of art there is a message. 

The first line of the Bible reads: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1 NIV) To put this another way, God is an artist and all of Creation is His masterpiece. So if all of creation is God’s art, what is the message? Simple - God wants us to know He exists, He wants us to see His glory, and He wants us to know Him. The Apostle Paul put this so perfectly in his letter to the church in Rome, “for since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NIV). God is not trying to hide from us. In fact, He is shouting to us through all of creation, “Here I AM! I Love you!” Every single one of His masterpieces - every leaf, every star, all of the cosmos is crying out, “I am the Lord, and I am right here! Choose Me!” So the next time you see a rock, or a sunset, or a cool photo from JWST, remember: God made that… and He made it so that you would know His name.

If you would like to read more about the James Webb Space Telescope and protostar L1527 IRS, check out these resources:

https://www.universetoday.com/158673/the-latest-jwst-image-shows-a-star-in-the-earliest-stage-of-formation/

https://webbtelescope.org/home

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-catches-fiery-hourglass-as-new-star-forms/

And if you would like to read more about God the Artist, check out The Bible :) https://www.bible.com/bible/111/GEN.INTRO1.NIV

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Bibliography

1 Gough, E. (2022, Nov. 17). The Latest JWST Image Shows a Star in the Earliest Stage of Formation. Universe Today Space and astronomy news. https://www.universetoday.com/158673/the-latest-jwst-image-shows-a-star-in-the-earliest-stage-of-formation/

2 NASA. (2022, Nov 16). NASA’s Webb Catches Fiery Hourglass as New Star Forms. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2022/nasa-s-webb-catches-fiery-hourglass-as-new-star-forms/