Extreme simplicity
Believe it or not, I shall be singing my first Christmas carols at a craft fair on Saturday. It seems very early – but probably more so on account of an unseasonably mild winter. With Christmas preparations running through my mind, my thoughts are returning to a quest I started last year – namely to buy one of German Artist Oliver Fabel’s nativity sets, pictured below. He calls it the ‘minimalist nativity set’ and he’s not kidding. All the cutesy trappings and elegant trimmings have been trimmed back to the barest minimum. The ‘characters’ in the story are devoid of character, ethnicity, age or any identifiable characteristic. As such they would give a great platform, I believe, for saying that the nativity is everyone’s story. However, it would seem that it is not to be, as I am unable to find any of these for love nor money.
Image:www.ohgizmo.com
However, this year London-based designer Sebastian Bergne has taken it a step further. In his nativity set, pictured below, even the names have gone. Instead there is a gorgeously coloured collection of coloured blocks. In a very post-modern way they can represent the characters in the nativity story, or another story, or indeed they can stand just as decorative items in their own right. What do you think?
This blog has featured all manner of nativity scenes before, from radishes to a missing person’s version, and even Spanish character caught short. However, the two above intrigue me particularly.
What about you?
Especially love the coloured one… like Barnett Newman for Christmas!
And so, so much better than the knitted set that was in vogue a few years ago – better for many reasons, but not least that ‘baby Jesus’ looked exactly like a tampon! Give me Newman/Rothko any day!
If anyone can find out how to get hold of an Oliver Fabel set – please let me know – thanks.
Just a quick note to say that I too was hunting to get one of these sets (why I came across this blog!).
I emailed Oliver – through the contact email on his website – and he emailed back saying he was happy to send me one! Could not be more excited!
Hope this helps!
Thanks SO much – will email him now
Hi Richard, Did you also have luck emailing Oliver directly?
I did – and used it at last night’s carols by candlelight service – see: http://richardlittledale.wordpress.com/2011/12/19/jenga-jesus/
That’s excellent! Besides the Jenga Jesus comment, I am curious as to others opinion on this set. I love the minimalism and what you pointed out about it being “everyone’s” crib scene. But I am sure there are some that would miss seeing the characters themselves. I am anxious to share this with our pastor and get his thoughts. Thank you for posting!
Interesting comments afterwards – most of them very positive. One of my colleagues keen to use it with teenagers too. Let me know how it goes down with your Pastor!