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Crossing
Painting by Brie Dodson
THE
CALL WENT OUT for artists to send in images of their
work that were influenced by today's political, social or
economic issues for this time of Advent preparation and Christmas
celebration. I am interested in how artists reflect in their
work the suffering of our world and the judgment and hope
of our faith. And I am interested in seeing what Episcopal
artists are saying to the Church and to the world about anguish,
compassion, hope, and reconciliation.
DO
WE FIND ARTISTS in the church who speak in their
visual language about such deep concerns? Do we have anything
to say about the painful issues of the world? Or is it that
we have lost faith in the ability of our art to capture imaginations
and make a difference in the world's discourse as we stumble
into the future? Have artists found no legitimate arena opening
up within our Christian tradition where visual art can speak
with as much force as a sermon, a lecture, an essay or a book?
Does the lack of visual art reflecting our concern for today's
issues reveal a deep despair among artists, viewers, displayers
and buyers of art, which says that visual art is unable to
reach passionate thoughts and emotions and become vehicles
for visions that could change the world? Do people shy away
from the questions visual artists might be asking? Do visual
artists shy away from asking questions that no one wants to
take time to consider? Has photojournalism preempted painting
and sculpture and captured in our time the appetite of our
eyes.
OUR ARTISTS HAVE SUBMITTED a wide range of
images reflecting their grief, their judgment and their outrage
as well as their longing for beauty, hope, love and thanksgiving.
They are seeking to reflect and reveal their concern for hard
issues in the context of dynamic faith in visual forms silently
fashioned by their hands and seen with our eyes. Look at these
images: hope and longing, grief and joy, prayer and gratitude,
outrage and compassion. Some artists offer them quietly to
God; some hold them raucously up for the world to see. Some
are rich in the Spirit's innuendo, others are alarming in
their forceful proclamations. Sense what their works are saying
to us and to our world in our time of Advent preparation and
the celebration of the Incarnation in our midst. And ask questions
for yourself about what visual art in our time might contribute
to the world and to those on a faith journey who seek to deepen
their trust in reconciliation and hope as well as to enliven
their compassionate engagement in the world.
IN
TIMES OF ANGUISH sometimes our hands lift our heart's
grief, joy, and outrage into outward forms of quietness and
reverence that do not directly engage the viewer with the
issues of the world. Creating art can be the outward expression
of weeping in our soul for countless issues in our time that
birth our tears. With deep awareness of tragedy around us
I modeled a sculpture of dancers emerging from the downward
bending of their spirit into leaps of exuberance. At another
time I wanted to enter the struggle with my art and I modeled
a head, which I called Holy One, reflecting anger, grief and
an all seeing eye of wisdom. After 9/11, sensing outrage and
grief, I modeled a sculpture of a mother/Madonna grieving
over a child and a city. These can be seen in the curator's
corner of this show.
WHILE WE HOLD SERIOUS QUESTIONS up to our
artists, we also must hold serious questions up to our churches.
How are we supporting visual artists? Do we subtly keep them
outside the big red doors, or do we welcome them in, letting
them speak to us with the work of their hands? Do we require
that they fit into the church's molds and into our
more verbal traditions? Do we allow the visual artists to
be overshadowed by our words, our music and our books? Do
we really recognize the treasure within our midst that our
visual artists are giving to us?
I
CONTINUE TO QUESTION MY ROLE as an artist in our
culture. In the back of my mind I hear the words spoken to
me in the Civil Rights Movement many years ago. "A
person who is not a visionary for human transformation and
social change is simply living off our culture and not seeking
to contribute to its transformation." Could these
strong words be said of me and other artists? Could they be
said of Christians as well? And could they be said especially
during this season when we celebrate the birth of Love who
came into the world so that we may "have life and have
it abundantly." In the words that we speak and write
and in the works we create and display, I believe that we
are called to help bring God's vision into human hearts so
that, inspired by the spirit of loving transformation, we
may behold all things new.
WE
REJOICE in this Advent and Christmas season that
we can deeply touch one another with our inquiring faith and
our searching eyes and come together by acknowledging the
Spirit working within us in surprising, incarnational ways.
The
Rev. Gurdon Brewster, Sculptor
Rev. Brewster is the Founding Chair of the Episcopal Church
and Visual Arts and curator of "Behold All Things
New". His work may be viewed throughout the ECVA
website and at
www.gurdonbrewster.com.
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