Resist and Create

I sat in a lecture by Monica A. Coleman, a post-modern womanist process author, here at LTS and it was great! She stated that while she's a constructionist (vs. a theological deconstructionist where many post-moderns go) she thought that Karl Barth had a good idea. Barth is known for his massive theological works, around 12 volumes, but when asked what was at the core, he replied "Jesus loves me, this I know." Monica stated that to get to this "core" ppl ask themselves what keeps them up at night and how do they go about solving this? this should help boil your thought process down to something. Monica's was "break the silence" as silence does not serve nor help ppl who are subject to oppression.

that made me try to figure my own core out.

i know i like inclusion, humanity, science, art, religions, and seeing how each one connects and feeds another. i get really angry with "slash and burn" style of thinking whether it be Christian or Atheist. "well it has nothing to do with XX*, so it's worthless" *this can be filled with Jesus, the facts, the Bible, science or whatever depending on who is speaking. that seems rather dualistic, taking only a "right and wrong" scenario and tossing out all the grey. so initially i thought my core was "Resist and Destroy" as i resist this type of thinking and see it everywhere i look in my context, both online and offline. i think this is what compelled me into ministry, seeing that things can be different, that the fundies don't have the last word on Christianity, that the atheists aren't right, that there is a middle ground and the two extremes must be destroyed. funny and ironic thing is, both fundies and atheists (of the slash-and-burn style) do have some good things going for them and destroying them would go against my inclusive nature and de-humanize them.

so instead, i think my core is "Resist and Create."

i could get all bent out of shape on how ppl view God, or how they have stupid theologies like The Rapture and how they often miss Jesus in their midst because that incarnation of Jesus at the time happens to be a non-Christian, forgetting that Jesus was Jewish in the first place! or that my more empirical brothers and sisters rule out anything that can't be verified through the scientific method and thus become "science literalists" stating that sciences PROVES so much... forgetting that science doesn't PROVE anything. as Einstein stated (paraphrased by me) science sets up helpful models and theories that help us make sense of things that are going on out there, all it takes is for one experiment, and those theories are out the window. as this is a short blogpost, i'll move on from there, knowing that both of these aren't sufficient and are characterizations. i know that, but this is my blog and i'm the creator here ;-)

i want to create a new way of creating my faith. i want to resist things like de-humanizing, colonialization, literalism, and create something new. i claim being a Christian because it's important to me. i recently talked with Sabio as to why and i want further that discussion as i am often met with the phrase "Well you don't SOUND Christian." both by atheists and believers alike.

it is my view that everything that happens is a product of the past, we are to deal with what's possible, and  we are what we do with those things. i'm a product of a white, Roman Catholic, single mom in south-east Ohio. my context, i'm blue collar, under-exposed to diversity, Christian for as long as my geneology goes, and  some what of a naturalist,scientist, and mechanic thanks to my mom's interests in nature and career as car mechanic. what i have done with those things is create something new and rather bold... i'm no longer Catholic, i will soon have two degrees, i've committed myself to diversity, studied other faiths, and kept the interests in science and such.

i must create! whether it be blog posts like this one, or this one from my Art Series at the end of my first semester, or my poems, or even my crappy cartoons over at Unidactyl. Check out that site please, i have a cartoon every 4 days from now until June! i like hanging around ppl who create and i'm even more honored to be around those who can create new directions for the traditions they find themselves in.

so there it is. pretty slick right? maybe? ok, no... but here are two good buddies of mine that are creating some pretty awesome stuff. my best friend growing up has a band called LifeLine and he's the lead singer! i can proudly say that i attempted to play in a band with that guy! now he's on tour with TANTRIC. here's a slick song of his:



here's another dude in a band... he is also the lead singer here and went to seminary before he landed a dream job as a sound mixer for a local recording studio. since then he has formed The Hititz and has been playing locally here and i love how poppy this stuff is. it's audio crack! Eve loves it too.



which one do you like?

My Westernized Mandala

For class the other day, we designed and then made sand mandalas. We are studying Tibetan Buddhism and did research papers on the tantric practice of the sand mandala and it's meaning. Based on this study we were to do our own mandala for a variety of reasons: 1. to learn the lesson of impermanence. 2. to see how hard it actually is. 3. to see how art has layers upon layers of meaning.

here is my mandala sketch and explanation followed by the final version:

The Meaning

Unlike the Tibetan concept of Mandala as palace and home of deity, I am choosing to represent a God that can’t be boxed. In fact, the symbols of the various religions are trying to act as walls for the divine yet the divine is in and through everything. This is to represent my panentheistic view of God.

In the center, I have chosen the traditional Christian symbol of Alpha and Omega to represent the divine. However, I modified it a little and placed two question marks and centered it in a labyrinth to show the ineffability of the divine. The boxes that hold the various symbols of the world religions demonstrate how each is a human-constructed view of the divine and the fire labyrinth that encircles the boxes show how each has a little bit of the fiery divine wisdom within each. The symbols read clockwise spell out “COEXIST” and end with a human skull to symbolize secular humanism, atheism, and those without a particular tradition yet still hold philosophical wisdom. These are placed on the 8 cardinal directions.

The labyrinth shows how humanity wonders and wanders around searching for the divine and yet wanders and wonders completely surrounded by it. I take this meaning from the wisdom literature that “all of this has happened before and shall happen again” which is a pseudo-Buddhist view of time. The pathway also shows how we are largely in the same state that we started in and will end up close to where we began on our journey. 

The symbol of the male and female figures is to show divine blessing on all of humanity and how we are charged with dominion over the world. It is good to note that dominion in my mind, from Genesis, suggests a stewardship and care for the planet, not the excess and exploitation that can be associated with this idea. It is also good to note that this view can be seen as hetero-centric but I do not intend it as such. This does not show how the man and woman are partnered with one another but shows both genders and represent how all of us got here, namely through that union. It is not intended to rule out homosexual partnerships.

The Experience

man, you have no idea how much concentration it takes to get sand to go where you want it to! Your breathing, hand control, and body position all must be accounted for. we used straws, brushes, and toothpicks to apply the sand and one little move or absent minded breath would send your whole work scattering. the concentration though was extremely focusing, i have a very technical and small-scale mandala and i'm normally more of a "chaos" artist... meaning i will slop things on there and intuitively follow where my mistakes lead me. this however, required a plan with mathematical precision planning and extreme skill to pull off. i rarely have these qualities, so it was quite a change from the normal way of doing things. I found the initial start-up frustrating, but once i got the hang of how the sand fell and what techniques to use, it became easier and i found i grew more quite, focused, and prayerful.  

The Result

When planning the mandala, i was so focused on the measurements and alignment that I forgot about scale. so i came with a smaller mandala than everyone else and thus a more technical one. the application of the sand blurred on the COEXIST spelling and only about two came out legible. i am pretty proud of the labyrinth and the color scheme.  This is from my buddy's camera on his cell phone... but you can see it's a little blurry. I love the 3D aspect of it, how you could texture and raise things in the sand or flatten or do a brush pattern. i hope to do another mandala in the future that will be bigger and will account for such things.

So if you had to do a mandala, what symbols would you have on it? What would it represent? If you have the time, I'd love to see a design or something... to my fellow classmates, I will put up your mandala on this site if you're willing to email it to me. RAWK!

Ash Wednesday

HAPPY ASH WEDNESDAY!! oh wait.. tis not the season to be happy... anywho, we're in Lent now.

Here is my art project from last year from the Christianity and the Visual Arts:



i'll have to reconstruct that sometime again at LTS.

There are some traditional practices associated with Lent. The three traditional practices to be taken up during Lent are prayer (justice towards God), fasting (justice towards self), and almsgiving (justice towards neighbor). Some people give up a vice of theirs thus adding something that will bring them closer to God. I haven't given up anything since I gave up Lent in 2001 or so (around the time when i 'officially' broke from Catholicism). but now i feel i should reclaim it.

so i'm going to give up COMPLAINING. there is much to be thankful for! here at seminary we lose sight of this because we're overwhelmed, overworked, under-slept, or whatever the case maybe. wish me luck and call me out if something reeks of complaining on here!

The Role of Art in Worship

Here is my final essay from Lee's class.. it's a little long and more of a rant than a paper.. but i hope you will enjoy!

Luther once hailed that the ear was the divine receptacle. He stated, “The ear, not the eye, is the organ God has chosen for the reception of revelation.” We must remember that Luther loved words and spent his life making a vast library of hymns, commentaries and translating the Bible. But what Luther failed to realize is that art is already in the worship. Fashion, architecture, even the printed word and the book that binds it are works of art. It is to what extent that the pastor allows and utilizes art that is the debate here. With this in mind I would reject Luther’s bold statement in favor of all five (or possibly six or more) senses.

Visual, written and verbal communication have always existed side by side (Witvliet vii). When used correctly, all three work in harmony to deliver a powerful message. Taking a look at the Bible, many of the most popular stories powerfully use all three methods. As Luther pointed out, “God… sets before us no word or commandment without including with it something material and outward, and proffering it to us. To Abraham he gave the word including with it his son Isaac. To Saul he gave the word including with it the slaying of the Amalekites. To Noah he gave the word including with it the rainbow. And so on” (Stone 10). Luther also communicated something to the Catholic Church when he nailed a copy of the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenburg. That was a dramatic act ment to attract public attention showing that even Luther used the arts. If Luther mailed his 95 Theses we may have never heard of him! It was his performance art that touched off the Protestant Reformation.

Art is everywhere and in everything. People have figured out how to make art out of every conceivable substance known to man. Art cannot be stopped and will continue to move and evolve. Protestants seem hesitant to use art. There seems to be a question of what is appropriate? Or how do we harness the visual arts and use them to communicate effectively?

All these questions must be considered before choosing art to be used in worship. If the art selector makes a poor choice, the congregation may be turned off. Maybe this is the true reason why people are hesitant to use art. Choosing just the right art piece is hard work and has no definite and concrete outcome. This ambiguity is what Luther had a problem with. One can control his or her words to get a measured message and outcome. But the combined impact of hearing and seeing is much higher than just hearing.

Based on the paper “Learning and Teaching Styles” written by Richard M. Felder and Linda K. Silverman in the Journal of Engineering Education, a study carried out by the Socony-Vacuum Oil Company found “that students retain 10 percent of what they read, 26 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they say, and 90 percent of what they say as they do something” (para. 7). So the impact is much higher when the purpose of both auditory and visual media match up. For this reason alone, art is needed in the worship.

In my perfect imaginary world in which I reside, there is no such thing as secular. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer stated, “The church, like Christ, has to become world. It is a denial of the real humanity of Jesus and also heretical to take the concrete church as only a phantom or an illusion. It is entirely world” (Floyd 12). Secular is a constructed idea we must break down and stop using. I do not understand the idea of Christian music, movies, etc. I can find a Christian message in the movies Pulp Fiction or Fight Club. I do not see the difference between musicians like the Newsboys who praise God and Marilyn Manson who questions God. Do not we need both? One can be just as appropriate as the other, depending on what you are trying to communicate. The "secular" movie and music makers do not hide their struggles with faith. They do not try to separate their faith and their life. It seems as though many Christians just visit their faith on Sunday and leave it in the hands of their pastor, and then they get on the road and act like a jerk for the rest of the week. I don't understand this separation. People of faith are never separated from it, albiet they sometimes let their emotions get the better of them.

With an open stance, I would expect art to pour into worship. If people took down the separation of church and secular, art would be much more welcome in worship. Bono, frontman for the band U2, said, “The music that really turns me on is either running toward God or away from God. Both recognize the pivot, that God is at the center of the jaunt” (http://www.artquotes.net/). Van Gogh to Van Morrison, it is all fair game, all aesthetics and all styles. I agree with Jensen when she talks about the transcendent ideal of beauty (8). True beauty most often does lead to truth (Jensen 10).

However, this vast spectrum may leave many overwhelmed. Just as Jensen points out, the world thinks that the “real artists” are as intimidating as they are impressive (11). What most people need to get over are their feelings of “this isn’t good enough” or “this is too simple.” Everyone has their own style, and by learning the elements and principles of design, people can start to piece together what they want to communicate. Learning these steps are very important in the early stages but once learned these elements can be broken or bent to create a certain effect.

A simple first step when trying to use art and/or music is to figure out what one is trying to communicate. We must take things situation by situation. One would not choose the same art for an Easter service as you would a Christmas service. Both are triumphant celebrations but of two difference natures. Christmas is the celebration of what is to happen, and Easter is the celebration of what has happened—two very different things. Communication is key in this example. This is the main problem of using art in worship—too many people are unclear of how to use art. Some would find art distracting, like Luther argues. I think the improper use of art would be distracting. People can be distracted by anything if the sermon is bad enough, however. I was fascinated many times growing up by the design of my shoelaces whenever my Catholic priest forgot he was talking to grade schoolers. With this in mind, I do not think that Luther’s argument against art holds any water. In today’s world, people seem to want definite answers but art is counter to that. Artworks that are spiritual are not concerned with answers (Stone 11).

Art and music are the first programs to get cut generally when schools face budget decisions. But the arts have an intrinsic value that ties in with other subjects children learn. Here is a brief list of the benefits of art education from the National Art Education Association:

The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.
· The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solution.
· The arts celebrate multiple perspectives.
· The arts teach children complex forms of problem solving.
· The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know.
· The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects.
· The arts teach students to think through and within a material.
· The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said (Eisner).

Art therapy is utilized for patients across the board with varying ailments, from mental health to physical rehabilitation. Studies have shown direct correlations between higher math scores and music education. In short, art is the great humanizing force of the world—a universal language that communicates without words, revealing basic truths about human beings throughout the ages. Art has benefit to all, both the artist and art viewer.

I believe in the Andy Warhol school of thought of “Art is anything you can get away with” (Stone 33). The same goes for “Christian Art.” The key to “Christian Art” is the purpose. When one puts an adjective in front of art, one is immediately ascribing a purpose to that art. For example, Modern Art ascribes to modernist lines of thought, and Impressionist Art focuses on use of color in a scene over use of literal depiction of a scene. The same follows with the term “Christian”—we are ascribing a purpose and function to the art.

Art is needed in Christianity now more than ever. Art is already used in worship, but needs to be brought to the forefront. Art’s intrinsic value benefits both the artist and the viewer. Once the purpose of the art and the idea that needs communicated are found, the presentation will be more powerful and etched into the minds of the audience. Art invites the audience to be engaged. An engaged congregation is more likely to return than an ignored audience.

Works Cited
Bono, http://www.artquotes.net/. February 8, 2008.

Eisner, E. (2002). The Arts and the Creation of Mind. pp. 70-92. http://www.naea-reston.org/tenlessons.html. February 8, 2008.

Floyd, Wayne W. The Wisdom and Witness of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Fortress Press, 2004.

Jensen, Robin M. The Substance of Things Seen, Art, Faith, and the Christian Community. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2004.

Madden, Christopher. “Discussion Paper: The ‘economic’ benefits of art.” 1998. http://www.creativenz.govt.nz/files/resources/madden.rtf. February 8, 2008.

Stone, Karen. Image and Spirit, Finding Meaning in Visual Art. Augsburg Books, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2003.

Wagner, Imal. The Storyteller: From Epic Tale to Business Advice. 50 Lessons, Inc. http://springboard.cwerty.com/press.asp?r=27. February 8, 2008.

Witvliet, John D. Series Preface to The Substance of Things Seen by Robin Jensen. Eerdman’s Publishing Company, Grand Rapids Michigan, 2004.

All We Have is Now

Reflection on "Bowl of Oranges" by Bright Eyes or
"I am a Strange Loop and You Can TOO!"

While Scientists were mapping my insides,
i wandered into a lonely storm,
here's what i found:
there's no prayer i could say,
no advice i could take,
no pill that offered salvation,
no fountain to seek,
no cup i could drink.

i know of nothing that ever grew younger,
the universe goes on forever,
like two mirrors facing each other,
it's reality upon illusion over and over,
until you can't tell the difference,
they both blend together.

all we have is now,
all we have is you and me,
let is sit together here,
in awe of the strange loop we create,
and read the story in our fault lines,
and in our soil,
that is furtile with our own personal histories.

Pearls before Swine

Self-Portrait

The Self-Portrait is the winner with 6 votes! Thanks everyone for voting and commenting. here's a quick run down of what it's about:

Self-Portrait
My customers at capitol were the first people to point out the resemblence not only in angular features but also in attitude between my dog and myself. sonny and i would sleep our whole lives through and be fine.. we like to play hard and when we're done, we're done. we're pretty laid back dudes. we enjoy walks and peeing on random trees.. okay maybe just sonny on the tree thing..

That cloud of craziness in the background shows all different types of groups fighting with each other not realizing that they're all connected.. even we ignore that fact and quabble over differences..

Art's meaning is in the hands of the viewer... This is just what i was trying to convey. If this doesn't match up with what you got out of the pic, then great! that's the beauty of art!

anyways.. i'm going back to posting some crazy theories and WEDNESDAY 2-6, a BIG one is gonna drop, so stay tuned for that.

Art Work

Okay readers! Now that I know I have some i'm going to ask a favor of y'alls. Right over to the right of your screen is a poll that closes next Tuesday.. just out of curiosity, i'd like to know your fav. art work of mine from the class Christianity and the Visual Arts.

The series can be viewed here, although many of you have already viewed it. Just let me know what's the favorite and then on Thursday i'll post the manifesto that goes along with all the works...

Thanks for your input.. and if you don't like any of them or if you want to prove your case of why you like/don't like the works, please please leave a comment! And you can't offend me, this is just out of curiosity on my part.

On a more personal note, this weekend we traveled back to our old stomp'n grounds in the DC area and spent time with the Jaycees, our awesome ex-neighbors, our church family, and our family in Springfield VA. It was so refreshing to catch up with everyone. We are so blessed to have such people in our lives. Our only regret is that we had such a small time to visit with everyone.

Anywho.. thanks for your input and i thank you in advance!

The Art Guild

I'm creating a new group here at the seminary... the LTS Artist Guild! You can find the blog here...

Here's the Manifesto:

In the spirit of the TH320, Christianity and the Visual Arts we seek to continue to use art as a medium to communicate the transcendent. We seek to awaken the mummified visual circuitry of the Protestant Tradition. Here is how we'll seek to do it:

Each month a theme will be given out and the members of this guild will compose an art work based on this theme. This artwork can be done in any medium and style. At the end of each month the art shall be posted here and discussed.

Pretty cool huh? Very excited to get it up and running!

Group Project

For our final group project in Christianity and the Visual Arts we had to create a worship space. We picked Lent. This is the 99.9% completed scene, the only difference being the candles were lit when everyone else walked through it. Ours was the most elaborate by far (someone even cried!). The cross is suspended and has barbed wire around it, if you can't see it in the video. The other groups did Advent, Pentecost and Easter. The Easter setup is at the end of our video that ours opened up into. I'd like to say this was planned, but it wasn't. Just goes to show there's no such thing as coincidence.

Past, Present, Future

Oil Pastel on Paper- Art based on Edward Hopper's Nighthawks

enjoy!

Christainity and the Visual Arts

Just started a class for my January term and it's all about art! yay! Coming from a Catholic background i'm used to seeing art in church... however i arrive at seminary to discover that protestants are rather unsure as to what to make of art. Protestants cited the following problems with art:
1. God revealed through words, as the Bible is just words! no pix.
2. Images are finite and cannot contain the infinite.
3. Pix are distracting.

I think this is rather strange as in my book a picture is worth a thousand words. Isn't most of our language visual anyway? It's raining cats and dogs, clean sweep, ballon payment, fragile economy, don't spill the beans, are you picking up what i'm putting down? Images convey meaning and we are visual beings before we're verbal.

We are a part of nature... we are animals. Our hearts beat, we are hot and cold, we are carbon based beings, we are effected by chemistry, we bleed, sweat, and digest our food. However we are also something else. We are spiritual beings as well. We cannot name it but there is that age-old nagging, that cosmic awareness of that Other. Other that is beyond or beneath or apart from reality. We cannot name it but we try. Augustine called it a certain restlessness. Tillich called it the depth dimension. Some call it transcendence, ultimate meaning, Truth, higher power, etc. We are driven by this mystery.

Flesh and Blood yet a Mystery that words cannot express. Art can.

Art can show the hidden. It can reveal that which cannot be explained, transcending the world not only of objects but also of facts and even ideas. This is the territory of image and symbol.

Sometimes i can't explain things.. but i could paint it for you. Like musicans can't tell you how they are feeling but they can play it on their instruments. Poets use language in much the same way. Art is our visual language that we must be conscious of. We can't stay on the margins, we must join in!

Rule of Three

It is my humble opinion that everyone in the world should at all times have answers to the following questions:

What are you reading?
Peace Is the Way: Bringing War and Violence to an End by Deepal Chopra.

the title comes from Gandhi's saying "There is no way to peace. Peace is the way." I'm 50 pages in and this book literally has the power to change your life (if you're ready). This book is not about ending war... but ending the very idea of war.

"The ego itself has to be disarmed to live the way of peace. For me as an individual to be free, I have to confront myself with questions about who I really am, and this is done in large part by examining the layers of false identity that I mistakenly call me."

Fabulous read... a full report will follow once i'm done

What are you listening to?
ULTRA CHILL 01 is an astounding mix of some of my favorite trip hop artists... like Royksopp, Zero 7, and more... i love love love the calm effect this music has on me. I listened to Royksopp while trop'n around Europe. Very Centering.

Also Sparta. This has a punk feel with the emo-ness of At the Drive In with some political motives like Rage Against the Machine.

Name Three Things You're Grateful For
1. My Wife
2. My New Ford F150 Company Truck
3. Having a solid basketball game (Immodium AD is currently 5-2)

how 'bout you?