October 29, 2011. (Romereports.com) These are the many faces of John Paul II. Polish artist Anna Gulak showed her newest project in an exhibition at the Vatican called “The Faces of Blessed John Paul II”. She says her art tries to portray the many sides of the late pope.


Anna Gulak
Artist
“I wanted to visualize different aspects of his character because he was not only great but he was also humble. He was a great leader and diplomat but he was also very emphatic and very sensitive.”

Gulak first started painting the face of John Paul II for a statue she was creating. But ideas for different paintings kept coming, so she turned these 'rough sketches', measuring 10 feet high, into something to combat the messages of advertising that people often turn away from.

Anna Gulak
Artist
“I made them in reference to contemporary billboard art because right now in this world of masses, there's a lot of commercials and billboards and they attack the mind of the viewer.”

In 2010, Gulak presented the pope with a medal she had designed at the request of the Holy See. As for the future, she says “The Faces of John Paul II” is the beginning of a journey and where it will end has not become clear.


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