The Book of Psalms, or The Psalter, a collection of Old Testament song poems, expresses every emotion of which the human heart is capable. Among them: awe and wonder, guilt and repentance, joy and ecstasy, mercy and compassion, trust and confidence. Perhaps the most familiar and beloved Psalm is the Twenty-Third: “The Lord is my Shepherd, There is nothing I shall want,” an expression of confidence and trust in the Lord’s generosity and compassion. Often sung at Sunday liturgies and at Masses of Christian Burial, the psalm evokes the image of the Good Shepherd found in the Gospel parables of Jesus (Matthew 18:12-14 and Luke 15:3-7) and in one of the first depictions of Christ in Christian art in the catacombs of ancient Rome. This image of Jesus carrying a sheep on his shoulders is a gesture of caring and tenderness.

We at STM are fortunate to have a contemporary representation of the Twenty-Third Psalm in the Boisi Lecture Hall, the work of graphic artist Jane Davis Doggett '56 M.F.A. Doggett received her B.F.A degree from Newcomb College (the women’s division of Tulane University) in 1951 with a special commendation from the School of Art; in 1956 she was awarded the M.F.A. degree with top honors from the Yale School of Art and Architecture, where she pioneered the field of architectural and environmental graphic design. Among the innovative concepts introduced by Doggett is “wayfinding,” defined by the SEGD (Society for Environmental Graphic Design) as referring “to information systems that guide people through a physical environment and enhance their understanding and experience of the space.” Many U.S. and international airports display her graphic signage as an aid to travelers.

Another of Doggett’s unique design systems is IconoChrome™ images, “geometric designs in colors expressing philosophically profound messages.” In the words of the artist, “I interpret and project the essence of a written message using graphic symbols, or icons, which are structured from basic geometrics—circle, square, triangle—in interaction with color or chrome.” It is to this genre that her “Twenty-Third Psalm” belongs and it is included in her book Talking Graphics. At STM twelve brightly colored boxes, or cubes, interpret the six verses of the psalm, positioned along the top of the wall opposite the windows in the Boisi Lecture Hall. “Her hand-drawn images are computer scanned in ‘layers’ for each color segment and digitally printed in a process she calls ‘electronic silk screening.’” Doggett’s work shows the influence of her teacher, Josef Albers, a noted German-American artist and Yale faculty member, whose paintings of colored geometric shapes are part of the collection of the Yale University Art Gallery.

Three images of Doggett’s sculpture illustrate the fifth verse of the Twenty-Third Psalm: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (In an accompanying box, the words of the psalm are rendered in an earlier English translation from the King James Version). In the first square the psalmist, represented by a thin white rectangle, emerges from a purple rectangle into a brightly colored pink square symbolizing the table, surrounded by five black triangles on a grey background illustrating the enemies of the one who prays. For the contemporary viewer, the table recalls the feeding of the Israelites with manna in the desert, the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, the institution of the Eucharist and the heavenly banquet to come. The beginning of the second half of the verse represents the Lord as a tall yellow rectangle with an orange circle halo next to the white rectangular psalmist with orange and brown triangles of oil anointing his head. Perhaps the most easily recognized symbol in the third graphic is the cup, imaging the concluding phrase, “my cup overflows.” This IconoChrome™ shows the psalmist, (white rectangle) coming from a lower pink rectangle into the brilliant yellow of the upper and larger rectangle. The blue cup, a half circle, clearly has a chalice shape. Four blue circles descending from the cup indicate the overflow of God’s grace and mercy.

Acquired by the Yale University Art Gallery in 2012, Doggett’s sculpture is on permanent loan to STM. As generations of Christians before them, Yale students and STM members and guests can today encounter the soothing verses of the beloved twenty-third psalm in a new way, through the contemporary and abstract art of Jane Davis Doggett, a pioneer in graphic design.

This article was included in the Fall 2018 issue of STM Magazine. STM Magazine is published twice a year for alumni, parents and friends of Saint Thomas More: The Catholic Chapel & Center at Yale University. If you would like to receive STM Magazine email robin.mcshane@yale.edu.