an introduction

This is from the first part of my talk last Friday night. For more info read this post.

An Introduction to Seeing The Savior by Brian Moss

“Like visitors to an art gallery who arrive 20 minutes before closing time we rush from exhibit to exhibit, fearful that we shall miss something worthwhile. The horizon of our own finitude haunts us, and we rush to cram as much as we possibly can into the available space, traveling ever faster and further, seeing and tasting more, trying out as many options as we can while we have the time and, ironically, as a consequence having time for very little at all. Has there ever been a generation with so little time actually to take time and enjoy the world? Always craving the next thing we so often fail to savour the moment offered to us.” (Hope Against Hope: Christian Eschatology at the Turn of the Millennium by Richard Bauckham and Trevor Hart, 178)

These words were not printed in a book on art in the church. They were not printed in any material associated with this current exhibit. They were printed in a book written by two British theologians on Christian eschatology. The questions they ask reveal the close connection that exists between all of our lives and the making and receiving of art. If anyone is to appreciate or even begin to understand art they must slow down. Try as you might, you cannot read Gerard Manley Hopkins quickly. The current exhibit, Seeing the Savior, is now in its third week with us and chances are good that very few of us have intentionally taken extended time to look at the gift before us. Even in my position as Director of Worship, Music and the ARTS it has taken a concerted effort to really soak it in.

The slowing down I’m talking about is not simply an unplugging or shutting down. We must actively pursue this kind of Sabbath rest. Hebrews 4:9-11 reads “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.” So here we are. While tonight will most assuredly be enjoyable, it will also require working - an active seeing.

Art seeps into all the nooks and crannies of our lives. Art is not a luxury to be taken in by only the wealthy. Art is for everyone. Art, at least good art, points us towards beauty, justice and, most importantly, truth. To quote Walker Percy, “Bad books always lie. They lie most of all about the human condition.” With this in mind I believe that it is essential to say that the first question we must ask ourselves when it comes to seeing art is not “Do I like it?” but rather, “Does this reflect, exhibit, and point to the Truth?” If you can answer yes to this question then you know that God was involved in the making of this art. If art is to be Christian in its ethic and ethos then it must be truthful. The same can be said for our evaluation of all art for worship, including music.

Pay attention to your first reaction to a work of art. It will not tell you so much about the work of art, but it will tell you a lot about yourself. When you first walk up to a painting that you have not seen how can you tell if it is worth anything? If you were to pick up a novel and simply look at the cover you would have no way of knowing whether or not it was a good book - you have to dig in, you have to open the book and actually read it. I’m asking you to dig in tonight; to really pay attention to the work done by these artists.

James Romaine has written a great essay to accompany this exhibit. In it he writes, “I would propose that images not only remind us whom to adore but actually challenge and encourage us in how we adore, i.e. worship. More than scriptures for the illiterate, the visual dimension of our worship can be an agent by which God acts on our idol-filled imaginations. Works of art not only help us look, they become the catalyst for how to see the image of the invisible God in his creation.” Romaine’s essay is entitled “From Looking To Seeing: The Visual Aesthetics of Worship”. I love this idea of going from looking to seeing. It reminds me of the way the Orthodox Church talks about icons. An icon is never an end unto itself. A casual observer is asked not to look at the icon but instead to see through it. In a similar way we are invited to see the Savior in this current exhibit.

Read From Looking To Seeing: The Visual Aesthetics of Worship by James Romaine

(art: The Sixth Hour (detail) by Bruce Herman and The Feeding of the 5,000 by Laura James)

Comments

[Haley]

thank you for posting this - i was bummed to miss the event but thankful now to get a taste of what was discussed. keep it coming!