"Maid, Mother, Crone"

The Bade Institute at PSR is currently showing an exhibition by Eileen Baker called "Maid, Mother, Crone." The pieces are a variety of watercolors, pastels, and mixed media, many of which are images of the Holy Family. Interestingly, baby Jesus is depicted in many images as a gremlin-looking type of creature with protruding tongues and big ears and, in some, furry feet. What does such a portrayal of the holy family suggest? Is it merely our interpretation of the non-divine, the in-human? How do we understand these images in relation to our understanding of the traditional gender roles, of the traditional definition of family? And, of Mary? We are instructed, given loose parameters, even before we see these images that we are to view these with lenses different from the familiar. If we are to understand that "maid, mother, crone" refers to Mary, mother of Jesus, wife of Joseph the carpenter, then these titles (imposed upon her by the contexts of her time period or of a later time?) force us to redefine the traditional family, the traditional gender roles. In fact, we would have to re-imagine the "modern" family (see Rosemary Radford Reuther's Christianity and the Making of the Modern Family). What I know is this, you can't just rely on what your eyes tell you...