The Spiritual Harmony of Amish Life in the Work of Freiman Stoltzfus
by Isabelle Holloway
A drive into Lancaster County, Pennsylvania may have you wondering if you have just managed to teleport yourself a couple centuries back in time: in passing by rolling hills of corn and wheat, barn houses and tower silos, and horses and cows grazing in the sun, you may come across a community of people known as the “Amish”, a Christian subculture tracing its roots to the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation. Whether drawn in buggies down paved roads or completing yard work with bonnets and straw-hats in their conservative, plain styles of dress, the Amish have withstood the technological advances and modern consumerism of their surrounding society in order to preserve their way of life and religious tradition.
With many people today finding themselves in more progressive, fast-paced environments congested with car honks, trails of the latest smoking fad, and corporate skyscrapers, such bucolic landscapes can hearken back toward attitudes of simpler, more grounded ways of ‘being’, seemingly fitting for artistic depiction; nevertheless, it is considered a violation of the Second Commandment and of the Ordnung, an Amish code of conduct, for the Amish to depict themselves physically, as they spurn the vanity, pride, and ‘excess’ associated with ‘art for art’s sake’. Art is predominantly viewed as a utilitarian pursuit, manifesting itself, as a result, more commonly in products such as quilts and woodwork.
Despite these rigid artistic convictions, artist Freiman Stoltzfus, born the youngest of six children in an Amish-Mennonite family and raised in Birmingham, a small town in Pennsylvania surrounded by Amish fields and farms, strives to respectfully and faithfully capture the spiritual essence of the Amish by his own relevant experiences with the community.
From a young age, Stoltzfus illustrated books and poster work, before honing his artistic talent at The National Academy and Arts Students League, institutes situated in New York City, where he explored various mediums such as pastels and collaging. His career ever since has been fruitful: Stoltzfus was awarded a residency with sculptor Greg Wyatt in 2010, has studied under Italian conceptual artist Maurizio Pellegrin and National Academician Rhoda Sherbell, and has been exhibited internationally in private and public collections, including in his own Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
Stoltzfus’s upbringing and career, in addition to his travels throughout Europe and the Middle East, have informed a unique breadth of artistic interest portrayed throughout his works, including music, season, poetry, Amish quilts, Gothic architecture, and geometry. He applies his artistic interests to his background with the Amish; in particular, he dedicates himself to the religious and motific interpretation of the mother and child, shepherd and flock, and their agrarian landscape.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Lady of the Orchard, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
Swept by the fragrances of the tree blossoms and fruit around her, and cradling a child whose cheek she presses, the Lady of the Orchard beckons in the life-giving breaths of the spring harvest. The organic yellows, greens, and blues of the upswept trees and orchard floor harmoniously interact with the purple tunic of the mother and the wooden ladder at her feet, creating a spiritual dynamic between man and nature; this spiritual dynamic is furthered by the halos crowning the Christian “Mother and Child” motif which they personify.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Lady of the Quilts, original mixed media on wood, 12 x 36 inches, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
This haloed, “Mother and Child” motif extends to the starry sky of Lady of the Quilts, which flows with the drapery of a celestially kaleidoscopic quilt. This quilt, an important craft in the Amish culture, symbolically emphasizes peace and spirituality by its blue colour; fortune and hope by the featured eight point star pattern; and, by this same star, dexterity with needlework. The mother’s direct, imposing gaze at the viewer, while conveying a sturdy, yet serene pose, reinforces long-standing Amish values of family and God.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Saint Francis of Bird-in-Hand, original mixed media on wood, 12 x 36 inches, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
A haloed man bearing a traditional, black straw hat recalls the venerated image of Saint Francis of Assisi as he tends to such birds as a swan and a duck, as well as to a turtle, in a wintry landscape. Speckled about the air and tilled through the fields in caressing waves, gold illuminates the earthy elements atop which Saint Francis of Bird-in-Hand stands. His bare feet indicate piety in simplicity and a grounding to the earth, particularly resoundent in the snowy scene. The fluttering of birds as in a stream resembles falling leaves, fostering an optimistic vision of changing seasons.
A lantern held up by a bearded Shepherd casts a gentle light upon the path of a flock of lambs, which meekly course through a moody atmosphere of rippling greens, blues, and purples. Typifying the image of Jesus as the “Good Shepherd” and in supporting a “Lamb of God”, the Shepherd defines himself as a “Light of the World” who synchronizes with Creation in order to ‘guide’ the viewer toward a hopeful horizon.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Shepherd; 2021, 2021, 12 x 36 inches, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
The orchards and fields of the Amish countryside are sacred to its community, who consider nature to be a God-given resource for subsistence. Stoltzfus celebrates the transcendent nature of life in Memory of an Orchard (After Rain) and Field Hymn by framing them within the tracery of Gothic style windows, which rise to impressive heights reminiscent of those in cathedrals.
The hazy conditions and cool, muted colour palette permeating Memory of an Orchard (After Rain) complements that of ‘de-abstractified’ memory, aesthetically encapsulating the agrarian and metaphysical cycles of growth, season, and change.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Memory of an Orchard (After Rain), mixed media on wood, 24 x 30 inches, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
Such cycles are musically encapsulated in the swelling undulations and gridworks of Field Hymn, orchestrating a collective sound of divine and geometric beauty. Music, for Stoltzfus, was heavily applied throughout other work, as he often created ‘synaesthetic’ renditions of various compositions. Considering Stoltzfus’s musical passion and the argument that music, as Schopenhauer puts it, is the highest expression of humanity, such a hymn takes on an ultimate, cohesive form through the misty stalks and clouds of Field Hymn, elevating its theological connotations for the Amish.
Freiman Stoltzfus, Field Hymn, Freiman Stoltzfus Gallery.
In an interview, Stoltzfus expresses: “If there is one word that most closely describes my work in the way I work emotionally, it is the word ‘hope’”. In his works, Stoltzfus discovers the interactive serenity flourishing from his beloved Lancaster County: a mother and her child reaching out for budding fruit, a man feeding birds from the cup of his palm, and a symphony between man’s ordered paradise and that of above all contribute to a reconciliatory painting which binds all people and things into one, level, and symbiotic energy. The reconciliatory symbiosis put forth by Stoltzfus in his work cherishes the natural, seasonal processes of life, in both falling leaves and the newborn lamb; thus, Stoltzfus captures the beautiful interconnectedness present in the values of the Amish community, inspiring others to adopt such a hopeful philosophy.
Bibliography:
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