It was Good: Making art to the Glory of God. Part 1

The first chapter of  'It was Good' talked about this idea of bounded awareness and had a great analogy quoted below. Everyone has different views of a single idea through their experiences of those ideas, which are interpreted by the individuals particular worldview.

"Imagine a conversation between a fish and a turtle. Both creatures would be able to discuss the idea of land but the turtle would have a very different understanding of the concept due to his experience which includes the idea of DRY dirt, a worldview that contrasts 

to the fish's experience of only WET dirt." [1] (Bustard, 21)

My World Religions professor, Sarita Gallagher provided a slide showing of how much our worldview can manipulate, mold, or shape an event or experience. 

This first chapter also talked about the idea of everybody having an equal opportunity to become good and evil depending on your actions. The more good decisions we make the more aware we are of God's goodness in the world. The more bad decisions we make, the more broke or less we are. I like this idea because it tests our faith in ourselves to do the right thing and tests us to be committed to becoming better, to become closer to God, and be a true believer in Christ. This idea of course inevitably makes me think of shoulder angels.

"The challenge to portray the glory of God's goodness in our art should be embraced ... the more we focus on good, the more we reveal who God is - that God is good - and provide a vocabulary of grace to those who lack it." [1] (Bustard, 32)

This quote stood out to me because I agree one hundred percent with Mr. Ned Bustard. Every challenge God presents us we need to embrace it and have faith in our ability / talents that God gave us. I also agree with Ned when he talks about providing the vocabulary of grace to those who lack it. I believe that to be one of our main goals as a Christian is to "extend our hand" so to speak, as God would extend his hand to help us as he has done and continues to do. 

"...Trinity of truth, beauty, and goodness... values that operate in God's fiat. Despite the fact that these 3 values appear relativized, marginalized, fragmented, eroded or otherwise compromised in this world, they exist in their fullness as God intended them to be in the eternal, redeemed realm - currently beyond the reach of our senses." [1] (Mulder, 5)

"... if it [the art] is a manifestation of the deeper levels of participatory knowledge, it must, for any religious believer, be bound up with the being and action of God." [2] (Williams, 169)

The "eternal, redeemed realm that is currently beyond our senses" could possibly be the same deeper levels of knowledge Rowan Williams was talking about in his Grace & Necessity book? I don't know. Do YOU know? I think you do... do you?

References:
[1] "It was Good: Making art to the Glory of God"
[2] "Grace & Necessity" Williams, Rowan.

Andrew Lockhart Interview

Artist of Faith Interview (Andrew Lockhart):

Montana State University-Bozeman

Bachelor of Fine Arts, Graphic Design

2008 – 2012

• Creative/Designer at Frank Creative
• 
  
• Freelance Designer at Andrew Lockhart Design (ALD)
• 
  
• Owner at Rockhart Clothing

What is your faith background?

I grew up in Montana in a Catholic home with 4 siblings. After college I moved to Oregon and became a (Baptist) Christian when I met my wife.  

How does your faith affect your artwork? 

It affects my artwork because I will always look at art as a gift from God. With this gift of creativity we must be grateful and use the talent that we have to create beautiful works of art, with the Lords guidance, that will engage and communicate.  

When did your faith affect your art? 

Ever since my mom told me I had a gift from God when she saw my old drawings. That gave me the motivation to become a better artist and taking advantage of my gift. I remember using whatever I could find around the house to create pieces of art, but was drawing most of the time.

What is your philosophy behind your work, specifically your illustrations?

My philosophy behind my illustrations and / or my art is that whatever I decide to create, it must be true to the concept. The stronger the connection between content and concept the better your message will be. I try to always remember 'content=concept' for my illustrations, meaning the element I'm adding needs to fit in the piece, not just be added to the piece. 

What do you want to say with your art?

I say a lot of things with my art so I guess that's what I am saying: You can communicate anything you can think of using art and that's why creation is one of the most beautiful gifts anyone could ever 

give us. 

Why do you do what you do?

Having 100% freedom to brainstorm is very time consuming and very addicting to me. The process of creation and the endless possibilities of creativity give me peace of mind, and it also gives me a challenge because I need to find all the pieces to the puzzle so-to-speak that make a great piece of artwork, and I love a good challenge. 

What is your hope for your artistic future?

I hope to widen my artistic horizons and hopefully learn or come up with new ideas or new ways to communicate through illustration by experimenting in the conceptual stages of creation. I hope that through my artwork, people can enjoy it and be able to look at art as more than just aesthetics but that there are purposes and meaning in the process of creation and in life as well. 

I learned a lot from my interview with Lockhart and have broaden my outlook on art as a gift to share and please others (be a farmer not a gardener) and to take advantage of the gift of creation we have. He gave me great insight on how to view art from a different point of view and I really liked his 'concept = content' idea because I think he is correct when the concept is really strong and the content is beautifully planned and executed according to the concept, the message will intensify exponentially.

http://andrewlockhartdesign.com/

Grace & Necessity Ch. 4

The last chapter of Grace & Necessity had some very interesting points that stood out to me while reading. Have you ever found yourself staring at a painting for hours because it looked so 'real'? So 'perfect'? I have plenty of times and have always wondered how it was done, or how it was even possible to create something like it.

Realistic painting I thought reflected the intensity and level of skill of this artist
and also because this is pretty close to perfect.

"... divine creativity is not capable of imitation; it is uniquely itself, a creation from nothing that realizes no immanent potential in the maker but a pure desire for life and joy in what is freely made." (Williams, 164)

"The artist's freedom is deeply connected to God's; but connected as something no less deeply other to God, since it is the particular way in which finite freedom comes to perfection." (Williams, 166)

"... if it [the art] is a manifestation of the deeper levels of participatory knowledge, it must, for any religious believer, be bound up with the being and action of God." (Williams, 169)

I agree with Williams when he says that divine creativity cannot be imitated, but when God and the work of art are in sync together, perfection is made. Only through God can the artwork manifest the deeper levels of knowledge and only through God can art be perfected.

As artists, we have a very unique and special gift because we have a fraction of God's gift, that being creation. We have the ability and freedom to create, but we can't manifest the deeper levels of knowledge without God and letting the art be itself.

“In Christian art,”  theologist T. M. Moore continues “whether the images are saints and martyrs or a parental dispute with a daughter over the supposed evils of coffee, the message remains the same: Life has meaning and beauty when it is lived within the framework of the overarching majesty, goodness, and love of God.” [2] 

This painting shows the beauty, goodness and love God gave us.

I agree with what Moore says, and especially agreed with life having meaning within God. Without God there is no point to life, therefore no reason to live, in my opinion. You have to make exceptions though because not all Christian art has that exact message. I do believe that art can be substituted for life in the bold quote above. Art has meaning and beauty within God, and can be so much more within or through Him. 


References:

[1]Williams, "Grace & Necessity"
[2]http://www.breakpoint.org/bpcommentaries/entry/13/22905

Grace & Necessity Ch. 3

This chapter of Grace & Necessity talks about Flannery O'Connor and her philosophies and ideas. O'Connor has written many novels, "Wise Blood"(1952) for example, which includes four short stories. Her novels and stories are peopled mostly with characters who are the result of O'Connor's view of the world. Williams speaking about O'Connor: "She is always taking taking for granted that God is possible - thinkable or accessible or even manifest - in the most grotesque and empty or cruel situations; she pursues the unacceptable in the ironic faith that the pursuit will vindicate God, at least the extent that God is intrinsic to whatever is uncovered in the work of writing." (Williams, 100) I believe that God should be intrinsic to whatever is uncovered in a work of Christian art. How should artists go about creating artwork with such intrinsic value?

O'Connor also talks about how you can't put truth into a form. The truth creates its own form. Another way of looking at this is from the concept point of view. Before you even begin a project you have to have a concept, and if the concept is strong enough, the form will be created by that concept to communicate its message, while the artwork doesn't necessarily portray Truth. As a Christian artist, there are pieces of art that aren't intended to be religious, but the concept (Truth) dictates how the piece of art is created because certain combinations of symbols, objects, colors, lines, shapes, blobs of paint, etc. that are filled with meaning eventually uncover the Truth (concept) about that piece of art. 

"One of the things that has been alleged to be the purpose of art is its cognitive function: art as a means

to the acquisition of truth. Art has even been called the avenue to the highest knowledge available to humans and to a kind of knowledge impossible of attainment by any other means." [3]

Albert Bierstadt, Mount Hood, Oregon 1869, Portland Art Museum.

An interesting quote I found on page 129, is Williams talking about how O'Connor's irony depends on something like this; "People are bound together in both seeking for God and the rejection of God and their acknowledgement of the reality of being together in rejection can trigger a sense of the other solidarity." All the more reason to not be afraid to show we are Christians, in my opinion. 

References:

[1]Williams, "Grace & Necessity"

[2]http://salempress.com/store/samples/survey_american_lit/survey_american_lit_flannery.htm

[3]http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/36433/art-philosophy-of/36285/Art-as-a-means-to-truth-or-knowledge

Grace & Necessity Ch. 2

Eric Gill's philosophy basically says that art that isn't propaganda, has an "art for art's sake" label. The art is what society believes and that it has intelligence and purpose. I believe that art needs to have a purpose, but there are artworks that aren't specifically propaganda yet they still have purpose and a message, not necessarily a biased message or concept. Although, that is the case most of the time when an artist wants to get a point across to an audience.
On page 90, I love how Williams describes art in this phrase: "It is a faith consistently tested to the extreme of failure and frustration ... endless development and ingenuity and can take on a million different forms." This phrase made me look at art as an intelligent test of our faith, ultimately our faith in our art or our ability. Art can drive a man mad and a madman insane, but artists continue to fight through the tests of failure and frustration to search for the inner truth of art that brings us closer to God.   On page 82, it says "Art is an uncovering of what is uniquely human." and what is uniquely human speaks for the maker of all things. If art uncovers God, how close are we to uncovering just enough or too much?
Artists create whatever is in their heart or mind, like God creates. God has given us the power and gift of art. To be able to create as He has created. Almost..


References:

Grace & Necessity

Grace And Necessity Ch.1

Several of Williams' ideas within the first chapter grabbed my attention. One of them was the idea that "Beauty should not be the goal of the artist. If it is well and honestly made it will tend towards beauty." (p.14) This stood out to me because I have had experiences making artwork that I wasn't intending to make great, but I invested a lot of research and time into the pieces of art I call great and beautiful. Williams goes on to say to not let our ego's take over and become victim to what Maritain calls the magical fallacy, when artists believe their calling is to change the world according to their visions. (p.16) I have divided thoughts on this idea because on one hand, I believe that the people who think they can change the world, while making art through honest and true work, have a higher chance of actually doing so. On the other hand, I also believe most of those people have fallen victim to the magical fallacy. I believe if the artwork is truly beautifully, it will change the world, but a process, built from integrity is vital.

"Charmeur de serpent", Abdel Aziz Haounati

Another idea of Williams that was significant to me was that God blessed the ones who have wounds or have been wounded. The purpose of these wounds is to help guide and shape us into the people God has called us to be. Fortunately, as an artist, this mold from God resonates in my artwork. Throughout my artistic career, I have experienced many obstacles thrown my way and those obstacles have changed the way I view the world, therefore changing the way I view, think about, and create art. The artists who have faith in their work, I believe are the ones who succeed greatly. 

The idea that stuck with me the most, Williams wrote, "The issue is always and only about the integrity of the work. The artist first listens and looks for the pulse or rhythm that is not evident; but the she cannot do any sort of job if she refuses to work with these pulses." I agree that there are 'pulses' in the beginning of the process of making a piece, and that once you feel these pulses that is when we pull the trigger and begin creating. I also agree with the statement that the issue is always and only about the integrity of the art. Artwork lacking the integrity necessary to create a beautiful piece, stand out in a different light than the way a beautiful piece stands out. When you stop and stare at a painting for a long period of time, usually it is because that artists has invested so much time into the concept, detailing, and everything else that goes into a piece. In graphic design, a beautiful piece in my opinion, would have reasons for every detail in the artwork. Everything in the piece has a conceptual origin and reason to be there. 

References:

Williams, Rowan. "Grace And Necessity: Reflections on Art and Love" 

Gothic Art in Germany & the Holy Roman Empire

Gothic architecture flourished during the high and late medieval period in the Holy Roman Empire, from approximately 1140-1400. 

Evolving from the prior Romanesque style, the Gothic style is particularly renowned for its enormous cathedrals, such as the Liebfrauenkirche (German for Church of Our Lady) c. 1233-1283 in Trier, which is known as one of the most important early Gothic cathedrals in Germany.

The Church of Our Lady is the oldest Gothic church in Germany, built in the 13th century. A special feature is the cruciform floor plan. The south part of the Roman double church was torn down around 1200 and completely replaced by the Early Gothic Church of Our Lady (Liebfrauen). Nothing above the surface is Roman any more, but there are extensive excavations (not open to the public) underneath the church and several of the Gothic pillars stand on top of Roman column foundations. The floor plan resembles a twelve-petaled rose, a symbol of the Virgin Mary, and reminiscent of the twelve tribes of Israel and the Twelve Apostles. The apostles as well as the twelve articles of the Apostle's Creed are painted on the twelve supporting columns, completely visible only from one spot marked by a black stone. The intriguing optics are matched by splendid acoustics.

The Gothic style revolutionized architecture by innovating structural designs such as the adopted of "ribbed vaults" which were intersecting roof sections that allowed more stability as well as being lighter than previous designs. 

Ribbed vaults gave rise to "flying buttresses" which were angled supports that could be enhanced with decorated "pinnacles" and allow more support for the structure. With these two innovations, buildings could construct lighter and taller buildings that ever before.


Pointed arches effectively distributed the force of heavier ceilings and bulkier designs, and could support much more weight than previous, simple pillars.
The gothic arch wasn't just a workhorse. It had an aesthetic value and beauty which influenced many other features of gothic design - most notably the vaulted ceiling.


Vaulted ceilings utilised the technology of the pointed arch to spread force and weight from upper floors. The arch also provided the impression of height and magnificence, giving the vaulted ceiling a feeling of grandeur and elegance. The distribution of force within the vaulted ceiling enabled vaults to be built in different shapes and sizes, too. Previously, vaults could only have been circular or rectangular. The elevation of a Gothic cathedral interior draws the gaze to the highest point in the vault, in an irresistible upward pull symbolic of the Christian hope of leaving the terrestrial world for a heavenly realm.

Cologne Cathedral

Altarpiece of Cologne Cathedral by Stephan Lochner (c.1500)

Construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. Despite having been left incomplete during the medieval period, Cologne Cathedral eventually became unified as a masterpiece of exceptional intrinsic value and a powerful testimony to the strength and persistence of Christian belief in medieval and modern Europe. 

Gargoyles have a practical purpose: they're spouts, enabling rainwater to drain off the roof and gush through their mouths, before plummeting to the ground. However, gargoyles had another intended purpose: to strike fear into the hearts of ill-educated Medieval peasants, scaring them into the church or cathedral. Many gargoyles include elements of the grotesque: exaggerated, evil features or threatening poses, which would have leered down from on-high. 
In a world marked with fear and superstition, these creepy creatures would have encouraged many to seek safety inside of a church or cathedral protected from the demons and ghouls which roamed outside. The gargoyle is one of the defining characteristics of gothic architecture.

Gothic art evolved concurrent with Gothic architecture but it was initially tied to architecture and predominantly served for decoration of the churches and cathedrals. Thus Gothic art mediums (sculpture, panel painting, stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts) were dominated by religious motifs inspired by the Biblical stories.

The early Gothic sculptures were still formally integrated in the architecture. The sculptural elements began to protrude from their architectural background in the 13th century and sculpture developed into an independent art form by the 14th century. Gothic sculptures from the 14th century onwards reflected a tendency toward realism. 

Gothic painting was greatly influenced by the manuscript illumination, in first place by the miniatures named after red lead known as minium which was next to burnished gold the most popular background color of the miniatures. Manuscript illumination reached its golden age during the Gothic period.

However, after the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1440 the illuminated manuscripts began to decline and with them also the art of miniature.

In the Gothic period, stained glass became an integral part of religious architecture and a more prominent artist medium. The stained glass conveyed God's presence through a display of light and color. 

Peter Hemmel von Andlau 

References:

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/239728/Gothic-art

Chapuis, Julien. "Gothic Art". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 
2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mgot/hd_mgot.htm (October 2002)

http://www.medievaltimes.info/medieval-art-and-architecture/gothic-art-and-architecture/

Adams, Laurie. "A History Of Western Art", fifth edition. City University of New York. (2011)