We're out to inspire better preaching - more faithful and creative proclamation of the Word! To celebrate the many ways the Word is interpreted and communicated, we chose to incorporate artwork inspired by Biblical themes into the design of WorkingPreacher. 

The Luther Seminary Fine Arts program is committed to collecting religiously-themed artwork and to its use in all forms of teaching. We maintain a strong relationship with the artist, John August Swanson, whose work is featured on this site, and whose pieces comprise a large portion of the permanent collection.

For more information about the Fine Arts program at Luther Seminary, please contact Paul Daniels at pdaniels@luthersem.edu.

About the Artist: John August Swanson

John August Swanson was born in Los Angeles, California in 1938 to a Mexican mother and a Swedish father. He tried his hand at several trades before developing his artistic and printmaking skills under the tutelage of Sister Corita Kent in the late 1960s. His early work drew from a text and collage aesthetic focusing on themes of social justice.

Though Swanson paints and draws in various media, he began learning the art of serigraphy (a type of screen printing) in the early 1970s, which became his primary medium to the present day. His work has addressed dozens of biblical stories during the course of his career in his trademark brightly colored, multi-layered style of pictographic narrative.

The Smithsonian Institute, the Vatican Museum, the Art Institute of Chicago, Harvard University, London’s Tate Museum and Paris’ Bibliotheque Nationale are just a few of the major museums and institutions that have made Swanson’s work part of their permanent collections. Swanson continues to make Los Angeles his home, and in addition to working on his art, he participates heavily in multiple causes for social justice in his local community and beyond.

Visit johnaugustswanson.com for more information about the artist. The Association for Hispanic Elderly (ANPPM) sells cards, books, and poster reproductions of John Swanson art through their secure online store.

Abraham and Isaac - John August Swanson

In the four main panels we follow the harrowing story of Abraham as he is sent by God to the mountains to sacrifice his son, Isaac. He is stopped by the Angel of the Lord at the last second, having proven his obedience. The four smaller panels flesh out the details of the journey. This vibrant serigraph was created through a painstaking process of screen printing in which the placement and application of each individual color must be plotted out by hand and then thoroughly inspected during printing.

Jonah - John August Swanson

The story panels in this work echo the elegant, U-shaped curve of the great fish as they follow Jonah from his summoning by the Lord to his booth in the shade east of Nineveh. Here, we see how Swanson’s narrative style has been influenced by traditions ranging from Mexican murals to stained glass to comics.

Ethiopian Hunger Cloth - Alemayehu Bizuneh

This piece was designed by Ethiopian modernist sculptor Alemayehu Bizuneh for the Misereor Agency, a German Catholic non-profit organization dedicated to promoting health and social justice in the Third World.

These massive hunger cloths depict multiple scenes rendered in the native style of the artist, combining biblical stories with cultural symbols, social struggles, and other touchstones of the artist’s homeland.