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C of O Conducting “Year of the Bible” with Interactive Exhibition

College of the Ozarks

Myriad of events are planned this academic year at College of the Ozarks as part of its “Year of the Bible” theme. KSMU’s Bailey Wiles reports.

An illuminated Bible is one written and illustrated entirely by hand. Several are now on loan to College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout from the Museum of the Bible, courtesy of the David Green family, the owners of Hobby Lobby.

Elizabeth Hughes is C of O’s public relations director.

“We had the great opportunity to receive these manuscripts for the academic year and we felt like it would be a great opportunity for our students and for the community to really lay hold of God’s word and to see it in this beautifully illustrated Bible,” Hughes said.

The exhibition that begins the “Year of the Bible” will include two illuminated works of the Saint John’s Bible, which were produced by St. John’s University in Minnesota and will be on display at the Boger Art Gallery on campus until October 27, along with other artifacts.

“It is an exhibition of two volumes of the Saint John’s Bible which is the first handwritten bible done in over 500 years. These are the first five books of the Bible, and also the gospels and Acts.”

That’s Dr. Richard Cummings, associate professor of art at College of the Ozarks and director of the Boger Art Gallery.

The two volumes that Cummings speaks about are interactive, so the public can touch and flip through the illustrations themselves.

The exhibition also includes that of a 19th century family Bible that is the most illustrated of its kind ever printed in the United States, plus a 16th century prayer book that belonged to Charles V, among others.

“The pieces from the Museum of the Bible are to give a bit of historical reference to how images have been used with the text of the Bible. These illustrations and illuminations act as visual theology. They provide the theological context by which to read the text,” Cummings said.

This Thursday at 7 p.m. C of O welcomes Tim Ternes, the director of the St. John’s Bibles, to talk about the making of the manuscripts and the artistry within.

Other “Year of the Bible” events, which are free and open to the public, will occur around the Christmas and Easter holidays.

Since the exhibit at Boger Art Gallery opened on September 9, the college says that over one thousand combined students and members of the public have attended.