Mustillo Crucifix
Runner-up of the 2024 Student Art Contest
Artist's Statement:
I depicted the crucifixion through a linocut block print which I accented with gold.
I included elements of traditional iconography to signify the divinity of Christ on the cross. The gold background and halo as well as the red lettering are reminiscent of traditional Catholic and Orthodox depictions of holy figures.
I wanted to express the grief of the crucifixion. In my imagination, Jesus cries through the stations of the cross. He cries for himself, his persecutors, for his family and his friend, for his Father. The crucifixion is the climax of the stations; the moment of the most inexplicable, poignant grief. In my linocut print, I combined these aspects of Christ's humanity and divinity: Christ's tears framed by artistic qualities traditionally used to represent Christ's divinity.
As a student at Notre Dame, Mustillo majored in the Program of Liberal Studies.
