SOUTH TEXAS BAR-B-Q RITUAL

On a sunny Saturday morning drive to synagogue in Corpus Christi, I drove by this scene. In Bishop, I believe I saw it. In a matter of seconds, it stamped itself into my mind, all of it: the colors and shapes, the clear quality of the early morning light, the peaceful serenity of the ritual, the great straw hats and the irony. Because of the holiness of the day, I was reminded of the ancient priestly offering at the beginning of the day.  The wood was being set, the animal was not yet smoking, but it had just been laid upon the altar. Even at the long distance between the highway and the scene, the huge beautiful pink body of the prepared pig stood out. It dominated the scene. For all its aspect of a holy scene, however, the pig is an animal forbidden to me for food. The pig is noteworthy in Scripture only for its being “not kosher” (unclean). I did not set out consciously to make a religious painting of this sight. Strictly speaking, it is not a religious painting. However, the ritual to “prepare savory food,” as Isaac requested of Esau and the burnt offering on the ancient altar connotes a public and sacred dimension whether around a campfire, or in a park, or in a backyard, or whether the meat is kosher or not.

South Texas Bar-B-Q Ritual is a South Texas painting. I have seen barbeques all my life, but never felt compelled to paint them, never made all the connections that I made here. The cowboy hat as a priestly mitre, the hand, head and body gestures as sacred motions. Somehow, the pointed shapes of the Gothic arch also got in. It was, after all, on the Sabbath that I saw this.