he Creation fresco was proposed in fresco, drawing the cartoon and working on small You can see the paint- 1997 by Bethany art professor William fresco and egg tempera studies. The math and ing process in this detail Bukowski. The idea was to proclaim science division and the college’s board of regents from the creation of T man panel. Pigment is Bethany’s belief in the Biblical account of creation met with Bukowski as the ideas for the fresco were applied to the dampened in a modern building of mathematics and science presented and developed. wall in layers where it using an ancient painting technique. Shugrue visited the Bethany campus in December is absorbed into the Fresco is a form of painting that was used in 2001 to check the site and wall specifications. intonaco. More layers tombs, palaces and churches since the development of paint are added to of cities. Many cultures, ranging from the Mayans produce the final image. in Mexico to the Romans throughout the empire in Italy, have used fresco. The painting must be finished while it is still wet. The artist has a window of about 10 hours to finish a section.

Pigments used in this fresco are from a tradi- tional 15th Century Bruenicke (left) and Shugrue apply the arranata layer. palette. CREATION PROCESS In May 2002, James Shugrue and Charles A water-based pigment (color) is applied to damp Bruenicke built the multi-layered stucco wall. plaster to fuse with the wall. The plaster is made of Beginning on June 12, 2002, Bukowski and sand and hydrated lime. When it dries it becomes Shugrue worked for 20 consecutive days, calcium carbonate, permanently fixing the painting completing the fresco on July 2, 2002. Bukowski to the wall. transferred the image from the full size cartoons The wall is made of three layers. The first, called and did the painting, and Shugrue prepared the the arranata, or scratch coat is made of rough intonaco and wall for each day of painting. sand and cement mixed with a small amount of horsehair. The second layer, called the arriccio, is INSCRIPTIONS lime and medium grade sand. The final layer, the The design is meant to be read like an ancient intonaco, contains fine sand and is the layer to prayer book and describes parts of the biblical Fresco creators William Bukowski (left) which the artist applies the pigment. The pigment account of creation in the book of Genesis. and James Shugrue must be applied when the wall is damp. During this The inscription across the middle on the left The phase the artist must be extremely accurate, as the side is the original Hebrew of Genesis 1:1 - “In The Creation Fresco is located in the wall does not allow for excessive blending or correc- the beginning God created the heavens and Marvin G. Meyer Hall of Science and Mathematics tion. the earth.” on the campus of Creation The inscription across the middle on the right PREPARATIONS BEGIN side is the original Greek of John 1:1 - “In the Professor Bukowski traveled to Italy in the beginning was the Word, and the Word summer of 1998 and studied fresco at the Academia was with God, and the Word was God.” Fresco by William Bukowski Caerita in Ceri. At the fresco class, Bukowski met The two inscriptions remind us that these words and James Shugrue artist James Shugrue and proposed a collaboration are the inspired words of God. Their meaning was to complete the commission. Bukowski returned clear when they were recorded and is clear to us 700 Luther Drive • Mankato, MN 56001 to Bethany and began the process of designing the today. 507-344-7000 • www.blc.edu IN THE BEGINNING o read the fresco, you must begin in the upper left panel with the creation of light: TGenesis 1:3 — Then God said, ‘Let there be light’, and there was light. — and the creation of the sun, moon and stars: Genesis 1:16 — Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He made the stars also. The Trinity is portrayed in the act of creation. The hands are a symbol of God the Father, the Christ figure holds a measuring device and a globe with a modern symbol for DNA. This figure slightly bent was used in medieval manuscripts to show God as the designer of all things. The Holy Spirit is depicted as in Genesis 1:2 — …And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. To the right of Christ is the cosmos, which was based on images taken with NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope.

PARADISE GARDEN The lower left portion of the fresco represents the creation of the land, vegetation, birds, and fish: Genesis 1:11 — Then God said, ‘Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, whose seed is in itself, on the earth,’ and Genesis 1:20 — Then God said, ‘Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.’ Many of the birds are of North American origin. In the Middle Ages the peacock was called the bird of paradise and used as a symbol of the resurrection. The design is meant to be read like an ancient prayer book and describes parts of the book of Genesis. So the depiction is meant to continue that reference The inscription across the middle on the left side is the original Hebrew text of Genesis 1:1 — “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” to the coming of Christ and our salvation through The inscription across the middle on the right side is the original Greek text of John 1:1 — “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Him. of past kingdoms. The bison is based on a prehis- culture. All ancient peoples have shared the wonder all His work which He had done. This landscape is CREATION OF MAN toric cave painting, the ducks and fish are from of creation. taken from the fjords of Norway. The landscape is The upper right portion of the fresco shows Egyptian tombs, and the octopus and dolphin are made up of basic elements of the earth: rock, water Adam and Eve. Their figures are clay-like and in from the Aegean culture. The small red bird is from THE SEVENTH DAY and vegetation unchanged by man. The presenta- the shadow of a large tree: Genesis 1:27 — So God an Etruscan tomb, the lion is from the Assyrian The lower right portion of the fresco represents tion of the seventh day as a Norwegian landscape created man in His own image; in the image of God kingdom, the bull from Babylon, the horse from the seventh day. The earth is complete: Genesis 2:2 was also included because of the college’s ties with He created him; male and female He created them. Greece, the rabbits from medieval France and the — And on the seventh day God ended His work which the Norwegian Synod, now called the Evangelical Each figure is presented as it was viewed in the art lamb from the Good Shepherd mosaic of Byzantine He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from Lutheran Synod.