Buddhist Minister, Greg Gibbs Interview

A couple weeks ago I attended a Buddhist Temple service for my World Religions class and had asked a couple questions about their faith. I decided to interview the Minister this time to not only get to know him, but understand what role art plays in Buddhism.

Interview with Greggory Gibbs from the Oregon Buddhist Temple

Minister Gibbs reading from a Buddhist script or sutra.    

What is the role of someone who follows Buddha, but wants to be an artist?

In order to practice the teachings of the Buddha, a Buddha image is not compulsory: Buddha did not encourage people to develop a ‘personality cult’, but taught that Buddhists should not depend on others, even on the Buddha himself – for their salvation. 

The image of the Enlightened One embodies the realization of potentialities that lay latent (existing, but not yet developed or manifested) in every sentient (able to perceive or feel things) creature. The ultimate responsibility for gaining that realization rested on the shoulders of each individual.

What role does art play in this temple?

This temple is based from Jodo Shinshu Buddhism, which offers many training methods, including the arts, for guiding individuals towards enlightenment, and all traditional Buddhist arts are intended to be reminders and inspiration pointing the individual towards the ultimate nature of phenomena and the ultimate nature of mind. 

The most basic role of Buddha images is to convey the feeling of calm and detachment that reflects proper mental discipline with control over the negative emotions of fear and greed. The Buddha’s serene appearance sets an example for his followers.

Main Shrine

What vision do you have for the arts?

I see the arts in a traditional sense. Traditional Buddhist art forms are made to complement and enhance traditional practices found in temples, monasteries, the homes and places of retreat. Wood, metal and clay are mostly used to make ritual or sacred objects. More recently actually, photography has been used to make inspirational records of pilgrimage sites and principal teachers.

Have you been personally moved by or affected by art?

Scroll painting inside the temple

Yes I have been moved by a piece of art when I first turned to Buddhism and it was a painting that portrayed a little boy in the presence of Amida Buddha or "The Buddha of Infinite Light." The little boy was looking right into the eyes of Amida Buddha with no fear. Then I thought: what would I do if I had a face-to-face encounter with Amida Buddha as well? Then I started to cry because I realized I would be frightened, which we as Buddhists try not to show. We try to detach ourselves from fear and greed. 

I believe in order to make truly sublime work, it helps if one meditates and has the right view and intention from the outset.

Does the temple collect, buy or make artwork?

Our temple has a small collection. The temple has bought the two main Buddha shrines, scroll paintings, and several other sculptures. This temple does make artwork. It is not necessarily intended to be displayed in the temple though. 

It Was Good Part 4

In this chapter of It Was Good, Suzannah Bauer talks about

COLLABORATION

"Because good collaboration rests so much on trust, it is important to really understand each other 

and learn about each person in the collaboration." [1] (Bauer, 285)

I agree with Bauer because collaboration integrates the differences of each artist, and to know what each other is inputing to the art is key for achieving a higher level of art than you could reach alone. Collaboration also helps us grow as people as we work through and around obstacles that can easily and quickly arise during a collaboration, which is one of the down sides of collaborating, but having others to help each other decreases the size of those obstacles. I also agree strongly with Bauer's idea that good collaboration rests so much on trust because sometimes you need an extra pair of eyes to offer encouragement, advice or suggestions. It takes trust to listen to other artists giving you advice or suggestions, and it takes trust to know your colleagues will not only do their part, but do it well. Collaborating is a form of grace because it resembles an unmerited favor. 

"...no matter how grand the project is, the same principles apply: patience, perseverance,and love between all collaborators provide the mortar and masonry of the finished work." [1] (Bauer, 285)

One benefit from collaborating is the ability to create larger pieces of art. Murals, sculptures, paintings, buildings, churches, etc. One negative of collaborating is not everyone is going to feel the same when the work is finished. Some might feel great about it and others may feel it needs more work. Sometimes collaborating can be all one person's idea, while the others disapprove. 

Illustrator Dave DeVries started with a simple question:
What would a child’s drawing look like if it were painted realistically?
(I love how the girls name, Chelsea is painted as she wrote it.)

I believe collaboration is like walking on a ^ shaped roof. It's very easy to slip and go down the wrong side where it's either one person controlling the whole collaboration or where one or some collaborators aren't happy with the end result. It's also easy to mesh well with others to create work that is of a higher quality. I know that when I collaborate with one of my best friends we can create very detailed and intricate drawings because we both have a similar process of drawing, but completely different styles. The collaborations that are for projects with others can be stressful, but still fun because you can also create work of a higher level, but under the pressure of the project or deadline the collaborators might not all be putting in the same amount of effort as each other to the artwork. 

"Sure, it may be the artist’s own creative genius in the conception of the image, in directing its production and in the actual application of the details of the most difficult areas of the image, but more often than is 

regularly recognized, the physical labour of others is present in the artwork." [2]

The biggest benefit from collaborating in my experience is the ability to come up with brand new and innovative ideas. Each collaborator bounces ideas off of each other until a great idea is discovered. That is what's amazing about artists collaborating compared to non-artists collaborating. As artists, we have the most creative minds!

"In sharing, in building strengthened friendships, and in a sense of accomplishment. For Blaine, ‘It’s all about ideas and trust, get it right and you’ve got something special.’ Lillian O’Neal, offers – ‘when the right person comes along the desire comes naturally’. This is echoed by Jon too, noting that the experience with Lillian and Blaine was so rewarding that ‘now that I know how it works I am keen to collaborate more.’" [2] 

References:

[1] It Was Good, Bauer.

[2] http://www.artsatlas.com.au/news-item/collaboration-in-the-visual-arts/

[3] http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/24Qdfo/www.elezea.com/2011/12/realistic-childrens-paintings/

T'was Good Part 3

In this chapter, Steve Scott talks about truth in art making and art observing. Scott talks about his responses to people's art, and talks about interpretation as a key to understanding our place in the modern world. All while hopefully getting a small idea of the "Truth" Scott is trying to describe. 

When viewing or observing art a common question arises: There's more to it than that, right?

This graphic design piece could be interpreted in many ways depending on the viewer's relationship and experience / history with lions. One could argue that the lion represents power and good, and that technology is taking away from good, from natural the world. 

"... object, viewer, viewing environment, and historical background all weave together to create a single experience." [1] (161)

Scott makes a good point when he says what is 'true' for some, might not be for others. This brings me back to the worldview image I showed in the last post. Our idea of reality is really only a small glimpse of what is really going on because of how we interpret and analyze experiences. 

These four values / ideas (Hope, Faith, Love and Luck) weigh heavy because they are what help give us meaning and purpose in life, and have a crucial impact on our art. Some might call Luck 'Divine Guidance', the same guidance that takes amazing art and makes it as close to perfect as any human can take it. 

"I believe it takes faith to think twice about an idea or image... and to believe that it is significant. I believe it takes faith to pick up a paintbrush, or to sit down at a piano or a computer keyboard and entrust this fragile fragment of inspiration to the process of necessarily messy translation. And it takes faith to exhibit, perform and display." [1] (169)

I agree with Scott's quote here because every time an artist goes to begin the process of actually creating the artwork, it is a good idea to have full faith and trust in your work that it will reach it's potential if you give it the care and love that God gave to us when he made us through His image. 

iPad painting by David Chong
This painting reflects the idea of having faith and taking that next step not knowing exactly is ahead. This painting also illustrates the idea that the past is in the past, and that we need to keep going, keep striving.

Ultimately, our actions are a product of our beliefs. Our beliefs shape our actions.

I loved the last sentence in this chapter just to re-emphasize that everyone has a different worldview and historical background."But this is what's true for me. I cannot speak for you"

References: 

[1] It Was Good. Scott, Steve.

It Was Good Part 2

This section of the book, It Was Good talked mostly about craftsmanship, and what it means to be an artist of God when dealing with the issue of craftsmanship.

"I remind myself of His deliberation in setting the slant of the earth at the odd angle of 23 degrees. A small thing, but but crucially important. If the earth had not been tilted at that exact angle, vapors from the ocean would move north and south, piling up continents of ice." [1] (129)

This quote really stuck with me because God's craftsmanship is always perfect. No less than the best. To achieve such a level of craftsmanship, the artists (in this case: God) have to invest much of their time, effort, but most importantly they have to invest their care into the creation. Craftsmanship is one way to measure how much the artist cared for the piece or cared about the artwork itself, cared that it can be nothing less that perfect. There are a lot of small details that HAVE to be EXACT in order to function. Every multi and single-celled organism in our body were designed to carry out specific duties or processes to keep us alive, to keep us breathing, and to keep us conscious. Every microscopic organism and creation were created with the upmost care. Therefore, I can't help but see the love of God. It's everywhere. Can you imagine what the world would look like if God decided to not care as much or give as much effort to creation? Luckily, we don't have the weight of entire universe on our shoulders while we try to create, so when we mess up we are able to try again.

Si Scott - Illustration

This illustration of a hummingbird by Si Scott is an example of great craftsmanship because every stroke seems to be a vital part of the bird and at the same time the strokes are thin and thick when and where they need to be. 

Because God loves us so much that he perfects his creations makes me want to invest the same care and effort to my pieces of art. Of course, we as humans cannot come close to the level of God, but if we were created with the most care, I want to care the most for my creations.

"With every gift comes the requirement to use it well, 'to whom much is given much is required' 

(Luke 12:48) ...  people [who] receive gifts is applicable, as is the expectation that we 

invest those gifts to multiply them." [1] (139)

This drawing shows not only the aging process, but also that God's creations are very complex and each creation will have an impact on the world, whether it's a negative or positive effect. 

This quote inspired me as an artist to use the talents I have been gifted with and to care for my creations in the same way God cared for his creations.

"We were created with God’s exquisite craftsmanship, where He used Himself as the blueprint for our design. In biblical terms, we were created in His image (Genesis 1:26). While we share certain physical characteristics with other creatures, like arms, legs, heads, etc., we share certain characteristics with God. Classically, theologians tell us these include having emotion, intellect and will. But also included are the ability to have a personal relationship with God, to have both soulish and spiritual self-awareness and to have the capacity to willfully share in God’s creativeness... we were created to reflect Him in our lives." [2]

This quote from my second reference is very powerful because like it says in bold, 'He used Himself as the blueprint for our design'. God used Himself, and so we should use the qualities God has given us to use for our creations. I see no other way to effectively use our gifts that God has given us than to reflect Him in our lives 

and in our artwork because He created it All. 

This is just a cool picture I have that shows the SUBLIME beauty of one planet.

References:

[1] It Was Good: Making Art To The Glory Of God, McCleary
[2] http://bible-equip.org/emed-daily/2012/05/07/original-craftsmanship-ephesians-210/

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