Dietrich Bonhoeffer Block Print

Last updated on: January 21, 2009 at 1:01 pm by David Hayward

Dietrich Bonhoeffer Block Print 2009-01-21T13:01:42-04:00 David Hayward

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bonhoeffer

I’ve begun working on a series of theologians in block-print. This is technically my first one, although I have an image of Karl Barth prepared for carving and printing. This one is of the German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. It is interesting to me that I am releasing this while the Tom Cruise film Valkyrie is making its rounds. The common theme of course is the plot to kill Hitler.

But that’s not why I admire Bonhoeffer. I love his little book Life Together. I read it every now and again to remind myself of the importance of community and how to protect it from the ambitious agendas of this world, both religious and secular. It reminds me that community is not created by the proper application of technique and vision. Here’s just one quote that cuts to the marrow:

Every human wish dream that is injected into the Christian community is a hindrance to genuine community and must be banished if genuine community is to survive. He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

The community I am a part of and oversee tries to remember this and live by it. We try to remember that what we have, if we “have” it at all, is a gift. It is something to be cherished, protected and enjoyed. We didn’t create it. We can’t sustain it. We can’t guarantee its future. It seems to be totally out of our hands, while at the same time we are somehow responsible for its care.

The linocut pictured here is approximately 10″x12″ (25cm x 30cm), and is hand-printed and hand-pulled on a beautiful, fine Japanese mulberry paper. I made four artist’s proofs that are available here.

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