St. John's Bible prints on display

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Starting today, St. Albert Elementary School will host the St. John's Bible exhibit that is circulating in Iowa as part of the Catholic Diocese of Des Moines' yearlong centennial celebration.

Following Sunday's opening reception at the school's chapel at 400 Gleason Ave., the exhibit will remain on display through Aug. 30. Both the reception and exhibit are free and open to the public.

The St. John's Bible, commissioned by St. John's Abbey and University in 1998, combines ancient and modern production techniques. It incorporates calligraphy like that used by monks before printing presses were available and hand-painted pictures of Bible scenes illuminated by gold leaf. Computers were used to design the layout for the pages.

Part of the Heritage Edition was displayed at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha in 2006.

The St. Albert exhibit will include 15 prints made from selected pages of the St. John's Bible, said Cindy Assmann, sixth-grade teacher and coordinator of the exhibit's appearance at the school. Each page is framed like an individual work of art.

"Some of them will just be parts of the opening of the Gospel, and some of them will be prints with some of the text," she said. "Wherever they have gold, that's depicted as the divine; so wherever you see (the name) Jesus, it's going to be in gold.

"They're pretty abstract," she said of the pictures. "There's a lot going on in the prints, but you may have to look for it. I think if you just come in and walk through it as an art display, you may not really get it all."

The project has turned the Bible into a work of art, Assmann said. "I think people will be inspired," she said.

The exhibit will be open for viewing weeknights from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., weekends from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. and weekdays by appointment.

To make appointments for group tours, call Assmann at 712-323-3703 or email [email protected]. To view times available for group tours, go to the St. Albert website at www.saintalbertschools.org.