Josh Tiessen: Vanitas + Viriditas
Josh Tiessen: Vanitas + Viriditas
“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” ––T.S. Eliot
This Spring, New York gallery Rehs Contemporary will present the newest body of work from Josh Tiessen – Vanitas and Viriditas. On view from April 28th through May 26th, the exhibition will be comprised of 23 meticulously crafted paintings and drawings, which required more than 5,000 hours of studio work over the course of three years!
Tiessen is an international award-winning artist based in Canada, best known for his hyper-surreal and uniquely shaped oil paintings. His pieces often delve into the interaction between the natural world and humanity, drawing on his studies in philosophy and theology. Continuing on that, Vanitas and Viriditas is an exploration of two divergent perspectives on wisdom and how we might flourish in a modern society filled with facts but mired in confusion.
Tiessen’s Vanitas paintings include a figure named Qohelet (Hebrew for “Teacher”). Inspired by the Jewish wisdom book of Ecclesiastes, these works represent the vanity of humans striving for power, wealth, and knowledge, often at the expense of the earth. The art historical vanitas genre, popularized by 17th-century Dutch still life painters, is based on the refrain in Ecclesiastes, “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.” These images often included motifs such as skulls, moths, and ephemera to remind viewers of the temporality of life and the inevitability of death. Similarly in Tiessen’s works, Qohelet seeks to deconstruct all the ways in which we find meaning and purpose in life that inescapably let us down. He chases after modern idols of science, technology, material consumption, and pleasure, ultimately finding them wanting. Is it all just smoke and mirrors? Is there wisdom in being at peace with the endless paradoxes, or is it cause for despair? The philosophy behind the Vanitas paintings is visually symbolized through an achromatic color palette, Japanese Zen rock gardens, and barren nihilistic landscapes.
The Viriditas paintings are built around a figure named Sophia (Greek for “wisdom”), inspired by the female personification of wisdom from the book of Proverbs. These works espouse virtues such as simplicity, humility, wonder, and awe, which are vital for cultivating ecological wisdom. The 12th-century nature mystic Hildegard of Bingen informed the character development of Sophia, from whom the Latin expression viriditas (translated as “holy greening”) originates. Sophia lives in a harmonious relationship with the natural world, attuning herself to the seasonal rhythms of nature. The vernal color palette in these paintings is bright and cheery—emerald, sienna, yellow, and amethyst, accompanied by Celtic and Gothic Revival aesthetics.
Both Qohelet and Sophia are complemented by animal companions. Qohelet is disenchanted with the natural world and ambivalent toward his fellow creatures since ‘there is nothing new under the sun’. Sophia seeks to learn from the symphony of creation, heeding the advice of the ancient sage named Job:
“But ask the animals, and they will teach you,
the birds of the air, and they will tell you;
ask the plants of the earth, and they will teach you,
and the fish of the sea will declare to you.
Who among all these does not know
that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every living thing
and the breath of every human being.”
For Qohelet, wisdom is pursued with “fear and trembling,” accepting the sobering truth that everything in this world is fleeting. For Sophia, the path to wisdom is re-enchantment with the earth and its Creator, manifested in embodied skillful living. The original meaning of the word philosophy –– “love of wisdom” is thereby restored. Flourishing can occur when we align ourselves with the wise grain of the universe.
Sophia Oil on Braced Baltic Birch, 24” x 24” x 2”
In the biblical book of Proverbs, we find four poems dedicated to Lady Wisdom. My interest was piqued when I read in chapter eight that this mysterious figure was the artisan at the Creator’s side, personifying the wise blueprint by which the cosmos was created. We often think of wisdom as head knowledge, but in Jewish wisdom literature it is better understood as practical knowledge, extending even to botany and music. [i]
The 12th century Benedictine abbess and mystic Hildegard of Bingen lived out this embodied wisdom. With a deep respect for the Creator and creation, she was the first to study scientific natural history in Germany. [ii] Like the female artisan of Proverbs delighting in creation, Hildegard loved music and pioneered the first musical, allowing nuns under her care to perform moral plays, even letting down their hair and wearing colourful dresses.
I drew these strands of inspiration into my new muse, Sophíā (Greek for wisdom). Here she is accompanied by a Marvelous Spatuletail. This endangered hummingbird, which only lives in the Andean forest of northern Peru, dons costume-like iridescent plumage and extravagant long tail feathers tipped with purple discs. The American Bird Conservancy has partnered with local Peruvians to create the Huembo Reserve to protect this unique species.
In our modern technocratic society, both religious and secular people are prone to an “excarnate” existence, living life solely in our heads and not in our bodies, leading to an alienation from the physical world all around us. Sadly, children are largely growing up indoors on screens, and are not outside experiencing nature with their five senses––developing Nature-Deficit Disorder, as chronicled in Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods.
Throughout my painting series Vanitas and Viriditas, Sophia’s adventures illustrate that now more than ever we must embody divine wisdom in our relations with one another and the earth.
[i] 1 Kings 4:31-34
[ii] Hildegard of Bingen, Physica and Causae et Curae.
All Creatures Lament Oil on Braced Baltic Birch, 26” x 26” x 2”
“We shall awaken from our dullness and rise vigorously toward justice. If we fall in love with
creation deeper and deeper, we will respond to its endangerment with passion.”
–Hildegard of Bingen [i]
Physiologus, a 2nd-century monastic text, was a predecessor to medieval bestiaries extolling the moral symbolism of real and imagined creatures, accompanied by lavish illustrations. One of the legendary stories is of a mother pelican who pierces her breast to feed her young, a phenomena believed to take place during seasons of extreme drought. This visceral image was applied to Christ’s self-sacrifice on the cross—shedding his blood to make atonement for the sins of humanity. In the Gospel books of the Bible, Christ likens himself to a mother hen: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.” [ii] Over the centuries many cathedrals adopted the symbol of the mother pelican and her chicks in the form of colourful stained-glass windows.
Drawing on this theological symbol, my painting depicts a mother pelican’s strident attempt to rise from the oily muck to save her chicks. I had in mind the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on April 20, 2010 in the Gulf of Mexico. This explosion of a rig managed by oil company BP was the largest marine oil spill in history, affecting Brown Pelicans in Louisiana, as well as White Pelicans many kilometers inland. In addition to oil spills, the ecological disaster of ocean plastics proliferates. Fishing nets are the worst perpetrators, and hooks that get lodged into wildlife. By 2050, 90% of seabirds will have plastic in their stomachs. [iii] Recently a train derailment in Ohio unleashed toxic chemicals like vinyl chloride into the air and waterways, resulting in nearly 45,000 animal deaths (primarily fish) and affecting the health of local communities, one of the worst catastrophes in American history. These environmental disasters manifest the proverb, “Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod they wield in fury will be broken.” [iv]
When I read the words of Hildegard of Bingen (above) I am reminded that my love for the natural world must also involve a response to its endangerment. “All Creatures Lament” is meant to be an unpleasant and sobering work that spurs us on to action. Looking into the face of an innocent suffering creature, we also look into the face of Christ, remembering that we are called like he was to stand with the oppressed and marginalized, no matter the species.
[i] Hildegard of Bingen, De Operatione Dei, 66.
[ii] Matthew 23:37
[iii] All Creatures Podcast, Episode 291.
[iv] Proverbs 22:8
Swallowed by Knowledge Oil on Braced Baltic Birch, 30” x 40” x 2”
After a life pursuing knowledge, Qohelet concludes: "Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body." [i]
The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard criticized the work of the German metaphysician Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, who believed humans could arrive at objective truth through a rational systematic approach to knowledge. [ii] Instead, Kierkegaard emphasized that we are temporal and finite beings, and the best we can do is with “fear and trembling” take a leap of faith.
The barren Icelandic black sand landscape in my painting is metaphorical for the epistemic nihilism Qohelet experiences in his quest for understanding. Certainly there is merit in studying broadly, and logically evaluating a plethora of truth claims. Being well-read is part of a rich and full life. Fine novels ignite our imaginations, and books about history, science, religion, and politics, expand our horizons.
However, no one can possibly read every book written and assert omniscience (all-knowing). Contrary to what our 'smart' phones would have us believe, we are sadly no more the wiser! We are experiencing what Charles Taylor termed the “Nova Effect,” a rapidly increasing array of life philosophies that are now on offer. [ii] Qohelet discovers that what we really need is not additional information, but true wisdom. Some of the most diabolical eugenicists and dictators were (and are) well-educated individuals. When we seek to find our entire purpose and meaning through the acquisition of knowledge we self-delude, rejecting a relationship with our omniscient Creator––the Light that can help us discern true wisdom from the wisdom of this age.
Viewers of this painting may notice the allusion to the biblical story of Jonah and the Whale, evidenced in Qohelet's place within the skeletal rib cage of a massive Sperm Whale. These intelligent mammals have brains six times the size of humans yet, like us, they suffer the same fate of death: "the dust returns to the ground it came from." [iv]
The Elf Owl perched atop Qohelet's head recalls Celtic tales of saints such as St. Kevin of Glendalough (498-618). Living in complete solitude in the wilderness, he was in such earnest contemplation and prayer that a blackbird built a nest in his open hands. [v] The insertion of the curious owl evokes the irony and humour indicative of when we get 'lost in a book' oblivious to the world around us... as Qohelet is often prone to doing!
[i] Ecclesiastes 12:12
[ii] Charles Taylor, A Secular Age, 423.
[ii] John Caputo, How to Read Kierkegaard. 12-13, 27.
[iii] Ecclesiastes 12:7
[iv] Tracy Balzer, Thin Places. 114.
*******
Josh Tiessen was born in 1995 in Moscow, Russia. He is an international award-winning contemporary artist based near Toronto, Canada. Tiessen is best known for his hyper-surreal shaped oil paintings, which take up to 1700 hours to complete, and reflect the interaction between the natural world and human-made structures, drawing upon his studies in philosophy, theology, and environmentalism.
From April 28th through May 26th, New York gallery Rehs Contemporary will present Josh Tiessen – Vanitas and Viriditas.
More:
27 November 2024 / Paul Chandler and Brian Whelan11 July 2024 / TEARS OF GOLD
Jonathan Evens interviews Hannah Rose Thomas
Read more...02 May 2024 / Interview with Gert Swart
28 March 2024 / Stations of the Cross in Hornsea
Matthew Askey's most recent project is a set of ‘Stations of the Cross’ for St Nicholas Church, Hornsea. This is a site-specific commission of paintings that link each Station to a part of the town.
Read more...28 February 2024 / Book review Abundantly More
01 February 2024 / James Tughan: CONTACT
13 October 2023 / David Miller Interview
“Form welcomes the formless home”
Jonathan Evens interviews David Miller on his work and the “interrelation, symbiosis and overlap” between writing and visual art
Read more...07 August 2023 / Ethnoarts Scripture Engagement
by Scott Rayl
Ethnoarts are artistic ‘languages’ that are unique to a particular community. They can help strengthen cultural and Christian identity.
Read more...12 June 2023 / Georges Rouault and André Girard
by Jonathan Evens
Rouault and Girard: Crucifixion and Resurrection, Penitence and Life Anew
Read more...10 April 2023 / Images for God the Father
by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker
How can we ever comprehend God the Father with our small human intellects? How can we ever get to know Him and learn to live with Him?
Read more...16 February 2023 / Ervin Bossanyi: A vision for unity and harmony
by Jonathan Evens
Bossanyi joined the large number of émigré artists arriving in Britain after WW II, many of whom were Jewish and explored spirituality within their work.
Read more...06 January 2023 / The Creative Process
by Colin Black
Creative journeys are full of mishaps, accidents, and wrong turnings.
Read more...01 December 2022 / ArtWay newsletter 2022
Artway will be continued by the Kirby Laing Centre for Public Theology from the beginning of 2024.
Read more...20 October 2022 / Kuyper, the Aesthetic Sphere, and Art
After three centuries of silence about art in Reformed theological circles in the Netherlands, suddenly there was Abraham Kuyper, whose great merit it was that he once again drew attention to art.
Read more...06 September 2022 / On the Street: The work of JR
by Betty Spackman
Through the project in Tehachapi JR wanted to "give voice to prisoners" and humanize their environment.
Read more...04 August 2022 / Joseph Beuys: A Spiritual German Artist
Is there a thread that connects the multifaceted work of this artist? My hypothesis is that Beuys’ spirituality is what drives his diverse work.
Read more...01 June 2022 / Interview with Belinda Scarlett
BELINDA SCARLETT, theatre costume and set designer and ecclesiastical textile artist
Interview by JONATHAN EVENS
Read more...21 April 2022 / Betty Spackman: A Creature Chronicle
When I consider the heavens, the moon and the stars that you have made, what are mere mortals that you are mindful of them… Psalm 8
Read more...08 April 2022 / Historical Models for Crosses and Crucifixes Today
All crosses and crucifixes symbolise joy and salvation. But formally there are two different types: the victorious and the suffering crucifix.
Read more...16 March 2022 / Three artworks by Walter Hayn
by Gert Swart
These three artworks must have turned Walter Hayn inside out, being so powerfully revealing.
Read more...22 February 2022 / Abstract Expressionism
by Nigel Halliday
It is worth the while to remember the deep seriousness of these artists – even if their suggested answers can look sadly thin.
Read more...07 January 2022 / Artist duo Gardner & Gardner
by Elizabeth Kwant
During COP26 artist duo Gardner & Gardner installed their work I will learn to sit with you and I will learn to listen in Glasgow Cathedral.
Read more...09 December 2021 / ArtWay Newsletter and List of Books 2021
Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker intends to phase out her participation in the day to day oversight of the ArtWay website over the course of the coming new year.
Read more...03 November 2021 / The Seven Works of Mercy in Art
by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker
This overview will show that these artworks from different ages mirror the theological ideas and the charitable works of their times.
Read more...06 October 2021 / Disciplining our eyes with holy images
by Victoria Emily Jones
Images tend to work a subtle magic on us, especially after years of constant exposure.
Read more...24 August 2021 / On the Gifts of Street Art
by Jason Goroncy
These works represent an act of reclaiming public space for citizens rather than merely consumers.
Read more...27 July 2021 / Russia’s 1st Biennale of Christ-centered Art
An opportunity of dialogue between the church and contemporary art
by Viktor Barashkov
Read more...30 June 2021 / Jacques and Raïssa Maritain among the Artists
by David Lyle Jeffrey
About the influence of Jacques and Raïssa Maritain on Rouault, Chagall and Arcabas.
Read more...13 May 2021 / GOD IS...
Chaiya Art Awards 2021 Exhibition: “God Is . . .”
by Victoria Emily Jones
Read more...21 April 2021 / Photographing Religious Practice
by Jonathan Evens
The increasing prevalence of photographic series and books exploring aspects of religious practice gives witness to the return of religion in the arts.
Read more...23 March 2021 / Constanza López Schlichting: Via Crucis
Perhaps what may be different from other Stations of the Cross is that it responds to a totally free expression and each station is a painting in itself.
Read more...10 February 2021 / Gert Swart: Four Cruciforms
In a post-Christian era, contemporary Christian artists have to find new ways of evoking the power of the cross.
Read more...08 January 2021 / Reflecting on a Gauguin Masterpiece
by Alan Wilson
An artist's reflection on Impressionism, Cezanne, Van Gogh and especially Gauguin's Vision after the Sermon.
Read more...11 December 2020 / ArtWay Newsletter 2020
What makes the ArtWay platform so special is its worldwide scope thanks to its multilingual character. There are ArtWay visitors in all countries on this planet.
Read more...27 October 2020 / Art Pilgrimage
A Research Project on Art Stations of the Cross
by Lieke Wijnia
Read more...18 September 2020 / Interview with Peter Koenig
by Jonathan Evens
Koenig's practice demonstrates that the way to avoid blandness in religious art is immersion in Scripture.
Read more...17 August 2020 / BOOK REVIEW BY HEINRICH BALZ
How Other Cultures See the Bible
Christian Weber, Wie andere Kulturen die Bibel sehen. Ein Praxisbuch mit 70 Kunstwerken aus 33 Ländern.
Read more...17 July 2020 / The Calling Window by Sophie Hacker
by Jonathan Evens
In 2018 British artist Sophie Hacker was approached to design a window for Romsey Abbey to celebrate the bicentenary of the birth of Florence Nightingale.
Read more...12 June 2020 / A little leaven leavens the whole lump
From South Africa
Ydi Carstens reports on the group show ‘Unleavened’ which was opened in Stellenbosch shortly before the Covid-19 lock-down.
Read more...14 May 2020 / Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals
Republished:
Hans Rookmaaker, Jazz, Blues, and Spirituals. The Origins and Spirituality of Black Music in the United States.
Reviewed by Jonathan Evens
Read more...17 April 2020 / Andy Warhol: Catholicism, Work, Faith And Legacy
by Jonathan Evens
While Warhol’s engagement with faith was complex it touched something which was fundamental, not superficial.
Read more...25 March 2020 / Sacred Geometry in Christian Art
by Sophie Hacker
This blog unravels aspects of sacred geometry and how it has inspired art and architecture for millennia.
Read more...22 February 2020 / Between East and West
By Kaori Homma
Being in this limbo between day and night makes me question, “Where does the east end and the west start?”
Read more...15 February 2020 / Imagination at Play
by Marianne Lettieri
To deny ourselves time to laugh, be with family and friends, and fuel our passions, we get caught in what Cameron calls the “treadmill of virtuous production.”
Read more...07 December 2019 / ArtWay Newsletter 2019
An update by our editor-in-chief
and
the ArtWay List of Books 2019
16 November 2019 / Scottish Miracles and Parables Exhibition
Alan Wilson: "Can there be a renewal of Christian tradition in Scottish art, where ambitious artists create from a heartfelt faith, committed to their Lord and saviour as well as their craft?"
Read more...23 September 2019 / Dal Schindell Tribute
While Dal’s ads and sense of humour became the stuff of legends, it was his influence on the arts at Regent College in Vancouver, Canada that may be his biggest legacy.
Read more...04 September 2019 / The Aesthetics of John Calvin
Calvin stated that 'the faithful see sparks of God's glory, as it were, glittering in every created thing. The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theater of divine glory.'
Read more...31 July 2019 / The Legend of the Artist
by Beat Rink
The image of the 'divine' artist becomes so dominant that artists take their orientation from it and lead their lives accordingly.
Read more...02 July 2019 / Quotes by Tim Keller
Many “Christian art” productions are in reality just ways of pulling artists out of the world and into the Christian subculture.
Read more...08 June 2019 / The Chaiya Art Awards
by Jonathan Evens
The Chaiya Art Awards 2018 proved hugely popular, with over 450 entries and more than 2,700 exhibition visitors.
Read more...29 May 2019 / Art Stations of the Cross: Reflections
by Lieke Wynia
In its engagement with both Biblical and contemporary forms of suffering, the exhibition addressed complex topical issues without losing a sense of hope out of sight.
Read more...03 May 2019 / Marianne Lettieri: Relics Reborn
Items that show the patina of time and reveal the wear and tear of human interaction are carriers of personal and collective history.
Read more...27 April 2019 / Franciscan and Dominican Arts of Devotion
by John Skillen
This manner of prayer stirs up devotion, the soul stirring the body, and the body stirring the soul.
Read more...13 March 2019 / Makoto Fujimura and the Culture Care Movement
by Victoria Emily Jones
Culture care is a generative approach to culture that brings bouquets of flowers into a culture bereft of beauty.
Read more...08 January 2019 / Building a Portfolio of People
by Marianne Lettieri
Besides hard work in the studio, networking may be the single most important skill for a sustainable art practice.
Read more...01 December 2018 / ArtWay Newsletter December 2018
ArtWay has Special Plans for 2019!
After London, Washington D.C. and New York the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands is now the anticipated location for a prominent art exhibition with the title Art Stations of the Cross.
Read more...11 October 2018 / The Life, Art and Legacy of Charles Eamer Kempe
Book Review by Jonathan Evens
The significance and spirituality of the work is made clear in ways which counteract the stereotype of mass production of a static style.
Read more...13 September 2018 / A Visit to the Studio of Georges Rouault
by Jim Alimena
Everything we saw and learned reinforced my picture of a great man of faith and a great artist.
Read more...09 August 2018 / With Opened Eyes: Representational Art
by Ydi Coetsee
How do we respond to the ‘lost innocence’ of representational art?
Read more...13 July 2018 / True Spirituality in the Arts
by Edith Reitsema
Living in Christ should lead us away from living with a segregated view of life, having a sacred-secular split.
Read more...17 May 2018 / Beholding Christ in African American Art
Book review by Victoria Emily Jones
One of the hallmarks of Beholding Christ is the diversity of styles, media, and denominational affiliations represented.
Read more...23 April 2018 / Short Introduction to Hans Rookmaaker
by Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker
On the occasion of the establishment of the Rookmaaker Jazz Scholarship at Covenant College, Chattanooga, Tennessee, 12 March 2018
Read more...04 April 2018 / International Art Residency in India
Art for Change, a New Delhi based arts organization with a vision to see art shape society with beauty and truth, will be running its 6th annual International Artist Residency in November 2018.
Read more...15 March 2018 / The Stations of the Cross at Blackburn Cathedral
by Penny Warden
Perhaps the central challenge for the artist in imaging the body of Christ is the problem of representing the dual natures of the doctrine of the incarnation.
Read more...23 February 2018 / Between the Shadow and the Light
By Rachel Hostetter Smith
In June 2013 a group of twenty North American and African artists from six African countries met for two weeks of intensive engagement with South Africa.
Read more...30 January 2018 / Sacred Geometry in Christian Art
by Sophie Hacker
This blog unravels aspects of sacred geometry and how it has inspired art and architecture for millennia.
Read more...01 January 2018 / Jonathan Evens writes about Central Saint Martins
Why would Central Saint Martins, a world-famous arts and design college and part of University of the Arts London, choose to show work by its graduates in a church?
Read more...06 December 2017 / ArtWay Newsletter December, 2017
ArtWay's Chairman Wim Eikelboom: "The visual arts cultivate a fresh and renewed view of deeply entrenched values. That is why ArtWay is happy to provide an online platform for art old and new."
Read more...14 November 2017 / The Moral Imagination: Art and Peacebuilding
In the context of conflict transformation the key purpose of creative expression is to provide a venue for people to tell their stories, and for their stories to be heard.
Read more...24 October 2017 / Bruce Herman: Ut pictura poesis?
For the last couple hundred of years the arts have largely been in "experimentation mode"—moving away from the humble business of craft and service toward ideas, issues, and theory.
Read more...04 October 2017 / David Jeffrey: Art and Understanding Scripture
The purpose of In the Beauty of Holiness: Art and the Bible in Western Culture is to help deepen the reader’s understanding of the magnificence of the Bible as a source for European art.
Read more...08 September 2017 / David Taylor: The Aesthetics of John Calvin
Calvin stated that 'the faithful see sparks of God's glory, as it were, glittering in every created thing. The world was no doubt made, that it might be the theater of divine glory.'
Read more...23 August 2017 / Reconstructed by Anikó Ouweneel
A much talked-about exposition in the NoordBrabants Museum in The Netherlands showed works by modern and contemporary Dutch artists inspired by traditional Catholic statues of Christ and the saints.
Read more...04 July 2017 / Pilgrimage to Venice – The Venice Biennale 2017
When I start to look at the art works, I notice a strange rift between this pleasant environment and the angst and political engagement present in the works of the artists.
Read more...24 June 2017 / Collecting as a Calling
After many years of compiling a collection of religious art, I have come to realize that collecting is a calling. I feel strongly that our collection has real value and that it is a valuable ministry.
Read more...02 June 2017 / I Believe in Contemporary Art
By Alastair Gordon
In recent years there has been a growing interest in questions of religion in contemporary art. Is it just a passing fad or signs of renewed faith in art?
Read more...04 April 2017 / Stations of the Cross - Washington, DC 2017
by Aaron Rosen
We realized that the Stations needed to speak to the acute anxiety facing so many minorities in today’s America and beyond.
Read more...07 March 2017 / Socially Engaged Art
A discussion starter by Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin
Growing dissatisfaction with an out-of-touch, elite and market driven art world has led artists to turn to socially engaged art.
Read more...01 February 2017 / Theodore Prescott: Inside Sagrada Familia
The columns resemble the trunks of trees. Gaudi conceived of the whole interior as a forest, where the nave ceiling would invoke the image of an arboreal canopy.
Read more...03 January 2017 / Steve Scott tells about his trips to Bali
In the Balinese shadow play the puppet master pulls from a repertoire of traditional tales and retells them with an emphasis on contemporary moral and spiritual lessons.
Read more...09 December 2016 / Newsletter ArtWay December 2016
Like an imitation of a good thing past, these days of darkness surely will not last. Jesus was here and he is coming again, to lead us to the festival of friends.
Read more...01 November 2016 / LAbri for Beginners
What is the role of the Christian artist? Is it not to ‘re-transcendentalise’ the transcendent, to discern what is good in culture, and to subvert what is not with a prophetic voice?
Read more...30 September 2016 / Book Review by Jonathan Evens
Jonathan Koestlé-Cate, Art and the Church: A Fractious Embrace - Ecclesiastical Encounters with Contemporary Art, Routledge, 2016.
Read more...01 September 2016 / Review: Modern art and the life of a culture
The authors say they want to help the Christian community recognize the issues raised in modern art and to do so in ways that are charitable and irenic. But I did not find them so. Their representation of Rookmaaker seems uncharitable and at times even misleading.
Read more...29 July 2016 / Victoria Emily Jones on Disciplining our Eyes
There’s nothing inherently wrong with images—creating or consuming. In fact, we need them. But we also need to beware of the propensity they have to plant themselves firmly in our minds.
Read more...30 June 2016 / Aniko Ouweneel on What is Christian Art?
Pekka Hannula challenges the spectator to search for the source of the breath we breathe, the source of what makes life worth living, the source of our longing for the victory of redemptive harmony.
Read more...09 June 2016 / Theodore Prescott: The Sagrada Familia
Sagrada Familia is a visual encyclopedia of Christian narrative and Catholic doctrine as Gaudi sought to embody the faith through images, symbols, and expressive forms.
Read more...19 May 2016 / Edward Knippers: Do Clothes make the Man?
Since the body is the one common denominator for all of humankind, why do we fear to uncover it? Why is public nudity a shock or even a personal affront?
Read more...27 April 2016 / Alexandra Harper: Culture Care
Culture Care is an invitation to create space within the local church to invest our talents, time and tithes in works that lean into the Kingdom of God as creative agents of shalom.
Read more...06 April 2016 / Jonathan Evens on Contemporary Commissions
The issue of commissioning secular artists versus artists of faith represents false division and unnecessary debate. The reality is that both have resulted in successes and failures.
Read more...12 March 2016 / Betty Spackman: Creativity and Depression
When our whole being is wired to fly outside the box, life can become a very big challenge. To carve oneself into a square peg for the square holes of society, when you are a round peg, is painful to say the least.
Read more...24 February 2016 / Jim Watkins: Augustine and the Senses
Augustine is not saying that sensual pleasure is bad, but that it is a mixed good. As his Confessions so clearly show, Augustine is painfully aware of how easily he can take something good and turn it into something bad.
Read more...11 February 2016 / H.R. Rookmaaker: Does Art Need Justification?
Art is not a religion, nor an activity relegated to a chosen few, nor a mere worldly, superfluous affair. None of these views of art does justice to the creativity with which God has endowed man.
Read more...26 January 2016 / Ned Bustard: The Bible is Not Safe
Revealed is intended to provoke surprise, even shock. It shows that the Bible is a book about ordinary people, who are not only spiritual beings, but also greedy, needy, hateful, hopeful, selfish, and sexual.
Read more...14 January 2016 / Painting by Nanias Maira from Papua New Guinea
In 2011 Wycliffe missionary Peter Brook commissioned artist Nanias Maira, who belongs to the Kwoma people group of northwestern Papua New Guinea, to paint Bible stories in the traditional style for which he is locally known.
Read more...