ArtWay

Beauty is not pasted over suffering but grows out of it—like the proverbial shoot from parched ground. Bruce Herman

Between the Shadow and the Light

Winter Flowers

Lessons from South Africa Between the Shadow & the Light

by Rachel Hostetter Smith

Winter Flowers ZA by Joseph Cory

It is January—winter in my part of the world. The earth is frozen, covered with a thick blanket of white, the temperature has dropped to well below zero, and those who are able remain safely ensconced in their homes just out of reach of the elements that threaten to consume us. The pines bow deeply under the weight of the snow that rests heavily on their outstretched branches, those green boughs the one small sign of life in an otherwise inhospitable landscape.

It seems fitting that in the northern hemisphere Christ’s birth came to be celebrated in conjunction with the Winter Solstice when pagan Romans celebrated the “birth of the unconquered Sun” to mark the start of Spring as the light slowly began to increase little by little each day. With the appropriation of this holiday for the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, Christians also adopted and adapted some of the symbols like evergreens to serve as a reminder of the new life that lay dormant unseen until the time was right for it to burst into full flower.

In a very real sense, there are seasons of life that are like winter when we hunker down in a defensive posture unable to do more than just weather the storm and hope to survive. From a theological perspective, we live in a world, as was literally the case in C. S. Lewis’ Narnia, that is in a state of perpetual winter where warm sunshine and the verdant life it nurtures is such a distant memory that it has been relegated to the realm of myth by all but a faithful few.

Barriers Still by Larry Thompson

“Things are not Okay”

In June 2013, a group of twenty North American and African artists from six African countries met in South Africa for two weeks of intensive engagement with South Africa—its’ unsettling and frequently disturbing history, its’ vibrant mix of cultures, and its’ increasingly tenuous contemporary situation. But in actuality, the point of their gathering was not really to learn about South Africa but to learn from her. We recognized that the issues encountered in South Africa have application everywhere and that South African art signaled fresh ways of addressing the complex realities of the past, the present, and hope for the future, particularly for people of Christian faith. The works this group of artists produced in response to their experience became the traveling exhibit, Between the Shadow & the Light: An Exhibition Out of South Africa.

Despite the tremendous advances South Africa has made toward achieving Nelson Mandela’s vision of a rainbow nation—a remarkable constitution, a level of healing for some individuals and society, open elections, freedom of movement and economic opportunities that did not exist for the majority only a couple of decades ago—problems remain and new challenges threaten the health of the democracy and the well-being of the people and the state. Limited educational resources for a growing population, the devastation of a whole generation and certain populations by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, unemployment estimated to be between 30 and 50 percent, and corruption undermine the efficacy of nearly every aspect of society and government. As Johan Horn, Executive Head of ALICT (African Leadership Institute for Community Transformation) has said, “Things are not okay.”

Larry Thompson’s provocative painting Barriers Still has Johan’s words emblazoned on a bright blue sky, as arcs of razor wire slice across it, destroying the apparent tranquility. The razor wire proffers both protection and threat, a barrier designed “to keep something in and keep something out” as Larry explains. Johan was right. Things are far from okay—in South Africa, or anywhere else. The evidence is everywhere we look.

Constructing Hope by Magdel van Rooyen

“Colour the Wind”

Some years ago, in the former township of Gugulethu on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa, the J. L. Zwane Church established a program called “Colour the Wind.” In essence, the church will paint a room in the home of someone in the community who is dealing with some sort of loss, hardship or distress. The residents choose the color—any color. When asked why the church didn’t just paint the entire house, the program organizers said the objective of “colouring the wind” was to incite a fresh breeze to blow through the household by interjecting a small but nevertheless tangible change. They didn’t paint the entire house because they knew that the existential change they sought to inspire required the residents to take up the responsibility for carrying that change throughout the rest of the house. If a mere change of the color of the walls of one’s house can inspire hope and the will to act, what more might works of art be able to do? Our world is in a continuous cycle of decay and construction where forces of every kind act to break down the infrastructures that sustain our lives and very being.

South African artist Magdel van Rooyen captures this reality in her work Constructing Hope in profound ways. On a piece of warped salvaged metal, she paints a road with a ribbon of concrete construction barriers and bright orange plastic safety fencing snaking around an intersection making it all but impassable. As with Gustave Courbet’s monumental painting Burial at Ornans (1849), the viewer stands at the edge of a dark hole that drops away in the foreground. Broken chunks of asphalt and dislocated stones threaten to tumble into the abyss. Constructing Hope presents us with the sometimes overwhelming piles of rubble that need to be cleared away before restoration or something new can be built in its place, and the necessity of holding firm to the hope that it will one day be made new again.

Beauty’s Vineyard by Kimberly Vrudny

“Winter Flowers”

When it is summer in the northern hemisphere, it is winter in South Africa, just as some of us enjoy seasons of peace and well-being while others experience the depths of distress and destruction. The national flower of South Africa is the protea. Protea is a genus of flower indigenous to South Africa. It is among the oldest families of flowers on earth. They are winter flowers that bloom when the rest of nature lies dormant. Like the evergreen, the protea is a visible reminder of the new life that is coming as the earth warms and the seeds that have been planted germinate and begin to grow. It takes its name from Proteus, the son of the Greek god Poseidon, who had the power to know all things past, present and future, and could change his shape at will. With more than 1400 varieties, the protea embodies great diversity and a multiplicity of possibilities within a single genus, symbolizing the possibility, however latent, for human and societal flourishing in South Africa and the whole world that just requires cultivation.

Kimberly Vrudny’s work Beauty’s Vineyard reminds us that restoration and renewal depend on addressing the evil that ensues all around us. The title, Beauty’s Vineyard, suggests the nature of the task. A vineyard requires careful tending: selection and preparation of the soil, planting of the root stock, grafting and pruning, monitoring the weather to adjust for slight shifts in temperature or rain. Perhaps most essential of all, a vineyard requires watching and waiting patiently as the vines grow before they bear fruit and the grapes can be pressed to make wine. A single disaster could seem to undo it—heavy rains that cause mold, drought, fire or an unexpected freeze. It is an arduous undertaking; the threats innumerable.

As American artist Joseph Cory writes about his series of drawings titled Winter Flowers ZA, “I liked the metaphor of a flower that blooms in the winter, typically experienced as a time of death and germination in the colder climate of North America.” The phrases scrawled on several of the works are drawn from encounters in South Africa: “Sometimes you have to carry and sometimes you have to be carried” (Dumile Feni on his sculpture History), “We have made a road by walking” (Zenzile Khoisan in his poem Fare Thee Well), and “the struggle continues,” a phrase encountered everywhere.

Working to bring about a better world is no different. It takes hard work and resilience. It takes faith and hope seen in the vibrant protea flower situated at the center of Beauty’s Vineyard as a sign of the new world that God is bringing into being. We may be living in winter, but spring is surely on its way. The signs are everywhere.

Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away… I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” Revelation 21: 1-5 (New International Version)

*******

1. Winter Flowers ZA by Joseph Cory, 2013, oil pastel, india ink and acrylic on paper, each 11” x 15”.

2. Barriers Still by Larry Thompson, 2013, oil on wood, 48" x 48" (50" x 50" framed).

3. Constructing Hope by Magdel van Rooyen, 2013, oil on metal plate, 54” x 31 1/2” x 1 2/3”.

4. Beauty’s Vineyard by Kimberly Vrudny, 2013, construction of photographs printed on aluminum, 16 ½” x 16 ½”.

Joseph Cory is Associate Professor of art at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to joining the faculty at Samford in 2014, he taught art and served as chair of the Art Department at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Chicago, and a B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He is the recipient of numerous grants and awards and has participated in a variety of competitive workshops. His artwork has been exhibited widely and he is currently working on a project on the theme of immigration.

Magdel van Rooyen is based in Pretoria, South Africa. She completed her Masters in Fine Arts at the University of Pretoria in 2012. Van Rooyen is a part time lecturer at the University of Pretoria since 2007. Her curated exhibitions include 168 Hours, 2013, and Eyetunes, 2014 exhibited during Aardklop Arts Festival. In 2012 van Rooyen was selected to take part in the Art-St-Urban residency with sculptor and entrepreneur Heinz Aeschlimann based in Switzerland. Van Rooyen is currently owner of Blokhuiz Studio Collective, a studio where she produces her own art as well as teaching painting and drawing.

Larry Thompson serves as Professor and Associate Dean of Art and Design at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. Prior to his tenure at Samford Thompson taught in Texas, Louisiana, and Arkansas.  A native of El Paso, Texas, Larry received his B.F.A. in art and design from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and his M.F.A. in painting from the University of North Texas. Larry’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. His recent work, The Infanttree Project, was partially funded through a grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation.

Kimberly Vrudny is Associate Professor of systematic theology at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. She is the author or editor of several works in theology and the arts including Beauty's Vineyard: A Theological Aesthetic of Anguish and Anticipation, and is the senior editor of the journal, ARTS: The Arts in Religious and Theological Studies. Her photography exhibit 30 Years/30 Lives: Documenting a Pandemic commemorates the lives of thirty people around the world affected by HIV/AIDS.

Rachel Hostetter Smith is Gilkison Distinguished Professor of Art History at Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Her work has been published in many books and journals including Explorations in Renaissance Culture, Christian Scholar’s Review, Image, and ARTS. Smith is a founding member of the Association of Scholars of Christianity in the History of Art (ASCHA). She was Curator and Project Director of the international exhibition projects Charis: Boundary Crossings, and Between the Shadow & the Light: An Exhibition Out of South Africa. She is currently working on another project in China. For more information on Between the Shadow & the Light contact her at rcsmith@taylor.edu.


More:

28 February 2024 / Book review Abundantly More
Book review by Nigel Halliday
 
Jeremy S. Begbie: ABUNDANTLY MORE: The theological promise of the arts in a reductionist world
Read more...


01 February 2024 / James Tughan: CONTACT
BOOK REVIEW
 
In this book James Tughan asks us to consider the idea that Jesus was first an artist before He was anything else.
Read more...


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...


28 April 2023 / Josh Tiessen: Vanitas + Viriditas

28 April - 26 May, New York gallery Rehs Contemporary will present Josh Tiessen: Vanitas and Viriditas.

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

Read more...


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...


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...