COMMISSIONS
Varies by size
Varies by size
Varies by size
Archaic Torso of Apollo​
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We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.
Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast's fur:
would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.
About the Artist: Nathan Fan
I work mostly with ink, paper, and gold leaf to depict stories that inspire the imagination, particularly in the theme of faith and morals. I studied art at Biola University and began my practice in ink drawings while studying theology in graduate school. My approach to my art practice involves blending the elements of storytelling, academic research, devotional hagiography, theology, art history, and philosophy of aesthetics.
Artistically speaking, I hope to provide spaces where the art can be viewed, with the particular context of contemplation—which is why I love making art for the home or for the church. I eschew any sense of decorative art, which is why I am content to make an image strange, beguiling, or even grotesque. I want my images to serve as iconographic reminders of the ideas embodied in them—such that the viewer can see the image everyday and build a bond of contemplation through the image to the realm of ideas and realities beyond images.
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​Images have the power to unveil the sacredness of a space; my hope is to let these images draw in the viewer—turn their head—and give them something simultaneously alien and familiar to behold. I want these images to force you into a choice of how to respond: you must change your life.