The Resurrection of Catholic Art

In a similar vein to the subject matter he paints, Daniel Martin Diaz is resurrecting a form of art that has absent for centuries upon centuries. But this month at the Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St., the mysticism and religious devotion of the Middle Ages will be revived. In his exhibition of paintings and drawings, "Misterium Fidei," Diaz explores the mystic symbolism of early Christian artists through the lens of a modern painter.
But Diaz is no stranger to the Catholic faith; his parents were born in Mexico and he calls himself a Catholic, although he is open to ideas from other religions. On Diaz's Myspace, he says, "One of my earliest memories as a child was the way death and religion played an important role in my family's life ... The fact that many of those beliefs seemed to render no logical explanation has also influenced me. These unanswered questions find a home in my work, which evokes the mystery, fear and irony of those vivid memories of my past."
Diaz paints in earthy browns, but dapples in blues and blacks as well to temper the effect. His characters range from dream cartoons to expressive manifestations of Christ. But even the more straightforward works, not seemingly inspired by mythical monsters, contain symbols and Latin words that shroud the meaning.
In "Peccavi," a skeleton with wings kneels down, his palms outstretched and his skull marked up like an ancient map. Stars glitter the background, and an hourglass sits atop the brown earth. The skeleton has a mystic circle halo like the saints in Medieval paintings, and a banner of Latin floats in the air.

Diaz's work has been showcased all over the country, and even abroad. Last year, he was given the honor to be in the Arizona Biennial at the Tucson Museum of Art, an extremely selective statewide contest that features many professors as well as established artists. Diaz has also been featured on the rock band P.O.D.'s album covers, a traditional altar for the San Antonio de Padua Catholic Church in Guaymas, Mexico, and in the PBS documentary "The Forgetting: A Portrait of Amnesia."