Noli Me Tangere

Acrylic on wood panels, 2007
(Part of the Virgin/Whore:Saint/Sinner series
- see artist statement in journal entry)

This one is influenced by many different sources and experiences; both universal and personal. (As art should be.)


Source material found on Wikipedia:

Noli me tangere is the Latin version of the words spoken, according to the Gospel of John, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene, meaning "don't touch me" (the quotation appears in John 20:17). The words were a popular trope in Gregorian chant, and the moment in which they were spoken was a popular subject for paintings.

It has been argued by Leon Morris that the Greek original is better represented by a translation of cease from holding on to me or stop clinging to me, signifying that Jesus is saying that although he is risen he has not returned in the same form that he left.[citation needed] He will soon ascend and will presage the sending of the Spirit.


My writing about the painting once I completed it:



Noli Me Tangere


“Touch Me Not.”

“Do not want to Touch me.”

His rejection of Her touch is not hostile.
He is just meant for something else.
He stands passively; he is not fleeing.
But he has begun to look away from Her, to reach for Other.
The gentle gesture of his hand is enough to effectively convey
his desire to not be touched by Her.


Her desire to touch Him is not carnal.
She hopes to touch Him in a deeper way.
But, except for two hesitant points, her protective barrier envelops her,
and she has left the option for escape open.
She can pull her hand back from Him at any moment,
should He ever turn around to touch her.


It’s tragic He and She will never touch.
They work well together.
The lines from their forms flow in and out of each other flawlessly.
Their colors compliment each other according to the laws of nature.


But Their’s is a dark divide.
They can only ever really touch in the Purple void.