May 23, 2013
History continued from A1 graduated in 1983 from St. Edwards University. John was also a spiritual person and wanted to help make the little Chapel even more special. He approached Frank Carter about painting the inside of the Chapel. It apparently looked too barren and sparse. In 1978 he began a series of frescoes that presently cover every inch of the inside of the Chapel. He did not accept any money for his work as the gift of the frescoes was more a part of his own spiritual journey. Cobb had also had a challenging chapter in is life with divorced parents and drugs. He had entered a dark point in his life.
Island Moon
Sanding and Painting John had to get rid of the paint that was on the walls at that time and needed to sand and prepare them for his paintings. Cobb began, “The first explosive rendition was a three week prep, of blasting with a sander and rabbit skin glue, and homemade gesso. And then a star-filled nightsky in the ceiling above.” It was important to begin with the ceiling and then cover the walls, so he originally covered the ceiling in stars but eventually painted other scenes over many of the stars.
The second stretch came after a break. Cobb shared, “The audacity of it began to sink in John thinks that and the work was left for Frank Carter might a time, and a half.” The have paid him a dollar, next phase was done in which would make it a Austin on 16th Street commissioned work of from about September sorts but Cobb’s work at to late November. These the Chapel fused deep watercolor sketches were spiritual connections taken to the site and it and meanings and his was non-stop painting own place in life. Cobb from December into also wished to reveal January while staying in in an innocent way Frank’s spare room. There some kind of new life were several other times, within himself, like a reworking, additions-but child. John claimed that small.” Cobb still has many perhaps the painting of the initial watercolors Marriage ceremony fresco in the Chapel, “might for the paintings in his possibly deliver me from a real sense of abandonment.” His inspiration possession. for painting it was mainly the altar inscription, A few of the abstract stars remain on the ceiling “I Am the Light of the World”. and separate different scenes. He also painted The carter family did not dictate the content a scene with the Bible in it near the altar, a or the style of the paintings and Frank Carter, real way that helped him distinguish what he according to Cobb, “never seemed too needed to do and who he could be. The Bible worried about the content of ideas too much.” is painted as being open to a passage from 1st Though Frank and John had different beliefs, John, Chapter 25, called ‘Test the Spirit’. It also backgrounds and experiences, they managed served as a powerful passage for Cobb. a positive and supportive existence. With The Old Testament the content and style left largely to Cobb’s As you walk into the Chapel you will see creativity, imagination and skill to determine, he went to work in “two major stretches, and a colorful scenes from the Old Testament on the left side, beginning with Adam and Eve. Eve few intermediate occasions.” looks out from the small alcove she inhabits and is modestly obscured not by a well-placed fig leaf but by a small metal cross setting in that alcove. Adam looks towards her. To the right of Adam you will see the parting of the Red Sea, Abraham and Isaac, first Christian Tenant and several other Bible scenes. Angels also appear in the paintings on the walls in various pastel shades. Continuing right your eyes stop at the small altar (although proportionately it is large for the size of the Chapel). Let your eyes purposely wander towards the two windows flanking the altar and you might see a small piece of the Gulf, still visible in spite of years of growth and building near the Chapel.
The New Testament Looking to the right of the altar you will see many frescoes
A 11
depicting the New Testament, including the House of Many Mansions and the Prophecies. The frescoes continue to the back wall of the Chapel where colorful scenes from Revelations struggle. Your eye should continue up until you see a small and colorful stained glass window placed over the entrance door. Two other handsome stained glass windows were placed inside the two side windows of the Chapel in later years. They show the dunes, dune grasses, and the sky. These striking stained glass Chapel with the cross - now removed. windows allow colorful light to paint the inside of the Chapel. that The Little Chapel on the Dunes should In the afternoon, the setting sun shines on the be repainted all white on the inside, covering south facing stained glass window, painting The forever the colorful and imaginative frescoes. Chapel walls and a few pews with warm yellow During a rededication in 1998 celebrating one of and orange tones. the Chapel renovations David Carter threw out the question of whether or not Cobb’s frescoes The Old Wooden Cross should be whitewashed over so that the inside John Cobb also designed, constructed and walls could return to their stark white original mounted an abstract cross, using a single log color. Guests at that rededication ceremony that stood at the altar and attached to the ceiling. were surprisingly given the opportunity to vote A horizontal cable running the width of the on the fate of the walls; back to their simple white or leave Cobb’s more colorful frescoes as they were. The crowd of revelers voted as requested. Regardless of which version of the voting outcome one reads or hears (198-2, 100-1, 98-2) they all reflect that the majority overwhelmingly favored leaving the colorfully painted frescoes as they were. The frescoes survived and the ‘white wall’ idea died. John Cobb still travels from his home in San Antonio to the Chapel periodically to touch-up or brighten-up the frescoes.
Inside back wall fresco. Chapel served as the horizontal bar of the cross. Cobb helps define the meaning of the statue and the cross, “Initially, the original statue [which he still has] was meant to be the center of the descending colors and glories from above at the apex of the ceiling. It was crude and rough from a corner post, its features confined and/or deformed, it had no arms and its wounds were naturally occurring in the side and feet. It was meant as a counterpoint to the super-pleasing tones of the paint.” The statue was, “firmly attached to the altar, below with a liberal glue and sealant, above attached to the very roof.” The statue according to Cobb was, “…the reason for the Chapel.” Regardless, years later, the rough-hewn cross was removed from the Chapel.
Frescoes – Stay or Go? The frescoes are done in a more abstract style that some have termed childish or simplistic. Certainly, the frescoes do not mimic or mirror some of the more complex or realistic painting styles reminiscent of the Renaissance art found in European Cathedrals and Mansions. The colors in the Chapel are softer and there is an obvious abstract and less detailed approach to Cobb’s frescoes. Not too many years ago the idea surfaced
A Whitewasher
A few years ago the inside walls were vandalized by an angry local sometimes referred to as a ‘renegade whitewasher’ who apparently thought that the walls should be repainted white. His conviction was so urgent that he liberally splashed white paint on the side walls near the door to the Chapel. Fortunately, the ‘whitewasher’ was stopped before irreparable damage was created. Sadly, a few of the original scenes were lost. There is a very colorful marriage ceremony now in one of the niches, showing more color and a more modern and less abstract style painted by Daisy Rodriquez.
Cobb, an Austin, Texas resident for years, hopes that after people view the frescoes they consider that, “The wildest and most wonderful things can be formed of circumstances, when God has a hand in helping you. No work can accomplish what He does for us, we would be glad most of all when we were closer in His direction.”
Cobb’s style according to him, “has become more mature, serious and complete. I recently did another chapel consisting of 23 panels. It is a touring work and most recently was in Tyler, Texas.” Cobb presently works with Valley House Gallery in Dallas where many of his works are displayed and sold.
Adam and Eve
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