Living Saints: The Poster Image

by Admin · December 15, 2020

The Saints project by Kristyn Brown. Inset: Poster of the Holy Family in the December issue of The Southern Cross Magazine.

The “Saint of the Month” poster in this issue of the Holy Family is a special treat: it is one of the artworks by US photographer Kristyn Brown, who stages photos of popular saints with live models. It is reproduced here as Kristyn’s special gift to the loyal readers of The Southern Cross.

We reported about Kristyn’s work, a true apostolate that aims to deepen devotion to the saints, in our November issue. Her more than 80 portraits of “living saints” make up what she calls “The Saints Project”. These artistic portraits can be seen on her website (thesaintsproject.org), where high-quality prints are available for sale.

As she told us in our last issue, Kristyn’s idea is to find average people to portray the saints in classic poses, using modern photographic methods. This emphasises that the saints were, in many ways, ordinary people and not idealised images on prayer cards. In that way they are relatable while encouraging the viewer to follow God’s call to them.

Kristyn uses various photographic techniques to help tell the stories of her saints: some are brightly lit, others softly. Many photos have a matt sheen that gives them the appearance of being classical paintings.

“The visual intent is to create images in a style we are used to seeing in today’s world. Photo manipulation is everywhere and ‘The Saints Project’ is no different, using modern and relevant Photoshop techniques — the look of the project fits in with the world but is not of the world,” Kristyn says on her website.

Her collection includes saints such as Teresa of Avila, Maximilian Kolbe, Joan of Arc, Therese of Lisieux, Clare, Mary Magdalene, Sebastian, Elizabeth & John the Baptist, Martha, Padre Pio (as a young priest), Rita of Cascia, the archangels and many more.

One series of photos, from which this poster was selected, depicts the Holy Family in various settings. Another set, equally exquisite, is of the Mother of God on different themes, such as childhood, solemnity, sorrow and so on.

To view or buy portrait photos by Kristyn Brown, go to www.etsy.com/shop/kristynbrownphoto#items

This article by was printed in the December issue of The Southern Cross Magazine.

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