Quench: Reflections on God, art, water, desire and equality

By Robert Maniscalco

"Quench" was born out of a desire to make a difference, to enlighten, to bring darkness into the light. It is a full color compilation of paintings, photographs and writing, connecting my 2014 adventure in Haiti, with the experiences of survivors everywhere.The Quench Project began as a fundraising venture to support the people of Haiti, who continue to struggle years after the 2010 earthquake. It started with a question: how could I use my God-given gifts to further His mission on Earth? I utilized crowd-sourcing to pay for my trip to Haiti. While in Haiti, I took photos, shot video and made sketches. From those, I have created paintings, a short documentary and this book, exploring our human journey from darkness to light. Quench is about how we deal with desire and speaks to the tenacity of the surviving spirit.Throughout The Quench Project my goal has simply been to give a face to the "faceless hordes." When seen as a wash of humanity it is easy to lose sight of the individual. My intention in coming to Haiti was not to document the misery of the masses, or even to find a few representative faces to win sympathy in the States. My goal was to find out, through my art, how a people, one person at a time, and in a million different ways, is finding a path to survival. The Quench Project is one of those crazy "Close-Encounters-of-the-Third-Kind-Richard-Dreyfus-building-a-mountain-in-his-living-room-kind-of-obsessions" that I simply could not have accomplished without a community of loyal supporters. TQP was the result of my desire to connect my spiritual aspirations with my life's work. I have come to believe painting, particularly realism, is a way to speak to societal needs, like water usage, income inequality, racism, questions of faith. I think art needs to do more than entertain. It must edify and teach us what it means to be human. We are here to enlighten. I was given this amazing gift for a purpose. Quench is simply an outpouring of my purpose in life. Haiti is an amazing opportunity for us to learn about our own humanity.Quench is for those seeking to become a living witness for a mission driven walk with God. It is not for those who feel they need to do penitence or to somehow prove to God, or the world, that they are more "Godly" than anyone else. Quench is for followers of other beliefs, or non-beliefs, who feel Christians tend to be dogmatic and preachy in the way they stand in judgment of others with whom they do not agree. It is also intended to admonish those dogmatic Christians, who perhaps are too quick to judge others who may find a different style of relating (or not relating) to a supreme God. Quench is for Secular Humanists, who may be uncomfortable assigning their good-natured efforts to a named deity such as Jesus Christ. It is for people who are struggling with a "literal interpretation" of the Gospel, so prominent today. It is for those who have a hard time imagining some old white guy, with white hair, in white robes, who through some grand magic trick, created all this out of nothing. It is for those who see God as some sadistic power monger, who would allow so much misery to take place, often instigated in His name.Quench is for Conservative and Liberal Christians who are struggling to align their politics with their spiritual practice. Quench is for those seeking healing from a loving God, who may feel, as I did, that they were not good enough or worthy enough to merit being in the presence of a "perfect" God. This book is also for those who have done everything they were supposed to do to have a great life and yet feel empty and unfulfilled. It is for those who may feel the spark has gone out. It hasn't.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 069249801X
• ISBN13: 9780692498019
• Release Date: November 2015
• Publisher: Robert Maniscalco
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.97 lbs.
• Dimensions: 11.0" x 0.3" x 8.5"