EUGENE, ORE.- The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon presents a body of work featuring Christian iconography from the 15th to 20th centuries that illustrates the life of Christ. “The Word Became Flesh: Images of Christ in Orthodox Devotional Objects” is on view through June 21, 2015. The exhibition features icons and three-dimensional objects drawn from the JSMA’s permanent collection.

“The Word Became Flesh: Images of Christ in Orthodox Devotional Objects” was curated by Meredith Lancaster , a second year graduate student in the Department of the History of Art and Architecture, under the direction of Associate Curator June Black and Senior Curator of Western Art Johanna G. Seasonwein.

“This exhibition examines the dual nature of Christ as both word and flesh, divine and human, by featuring works that show narrative scenes of his birth, life, death, and resurrection, as well as symbolic images that illustrate significant theological points,” says Lancaster.

Between the spheres of the spoken word and the spiritual world these images were meant to communicate the glories of God to the oftentimes illiterate early Christians. By emphasizing important scenes in Christ’s life, as well as the Virgin Mary’s, “The Word Became Flesh”” demonstrates how religious icons function as sacred images that render visible the invisible presence of God in historical representations of Christ in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest museum for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon’s academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to art from China, Japan, Korea, America and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of six museums in Oregon accredited by the American Association of Museums.