What Happens When We Die? – Meet the (a)Artist

September 11, 2022 – 10:30 a.m.

Since the very first ArtPrize in 2009, Monroe Community Church has been creating worship experiences rooted in the felt needs, human conditions, pathos, and joy found in the art that we host. If we believe that humans are created in the image of God, then each of us testifies to the Creator by creating. Each Sunday morning during ArtPrize, our pastor and worship leader will interview the artist, who may or may not be a person of faith, unpack the motivations and meaning behind their ArtPrize entry, and then look to scripture and song for what the Bible and our rich musical tradition may say about similar themes.

Sundays, 10:30 a.m. @ 1020 Monroe NW

Week 1:

What Happens When We Die?
Artist: Dave Sobotka “inevitable vi”

About the Art:

inevitable vi

I turned 60 this past year. Life is indeed wonderful, and I have been blessed with a wonderful family, including the birth of my first grandchild. However this past year, I have become very reflective of my impending mortality. Death is inescapable, and it comes to everyone and everything. We cannot escape it…all we can do is live our lives with love. The image can viewed as the inevitability of death (viewed from top down) or the inevitability of rebirth (viewed from the bottom up), depending on how one chooses to view it.

About the Artist:

Dave Sobotka

My life has been a journey to merge creativity with a goal of conveying a meaningful message to an audience. I majored in Fine Art at Calvin College. My career goal was always to work as a Graphic Artist, and I have been fortunate enough to do so since 1985. The most important aspect of any graphic design project was convey a clear engaging message to an audience. For 30+ years, I was continually exposed to the basic tenets of the technical aspects of art… color, composition, structure, form. Through sheer repetition, those foundational blocks began to sink into my conscience. What started as a challenge for me became as natural as breathing. After all, graphic design is not much different than fine art. In 2007, I picked up a camera. Over time, something clicked inside me. I finally had the means to convey my message in a medium that I could execute. So for the next 10+ years I took photographs, honing my vision and my technical skills. The story does not end there. In 2020, COVID struck. I was put on unpaid leave and with all the free time I had, I was able to pursue an illustration project for a close friend. That project led to a melding of everything I learned over the past 40 years, and from there, I was able to take a very important next step in my evolution as an artist. Say something with art. Say something meaningful and powerful . . .