Video: My Vision for the Artistic Renewal of the City
The video interview below, conducted this past fall, captures best my vision for the artistic renewal of Austin. It represents the combination of ideas and practices that I believe are necessary for the Kingdom of God to become manifest through the art culture of the city over the next 40 to 100 years.
I'm grateful to Jeremy Rogers for doings such a great job in the editing room. He turned what could have ended up boring-ish into something possibly entertaining. He certainly captured my verbal tics ("fifth? fifth? fifth, fifth--fifth?"). Jeremy works as Austin Stone Community Church's video chief. We met a number of years ago when he was an RTF graduate student at UT. He'd visited Hope Chapel a few times. And with the community of Christians in the film industry of Austin so small, it was inevitable that we would bumped into each other here and there. I sincerely appreciate the man.
(One more connection to Austin Stone. This morning a few of us from Christ Church joined Mission Possible for Church Under the Bridge, a worship service offerd to the homeless community of Austin. Cliff is asking all of us at CC to spend a Sunday serving CUB. But the folks setting up all the food and drink were a contingent from Austin Stone. It was a great blessing to serve with them.)
Let me mention two things about the video. One, I quote Andy Crouch twice. The problem is, the part where I say "Andy Crouch just published a great book called Culture Making" got left on the cutting room. But credit goes to whom credit is deserved--in particular the "we can simply go about criticizing, analyzing, consuming...culture" part. If you haven't bought his book, buy it.
Two, if you were wondering the name of the person who engaged me in lively conversation during this interview . . . well, there was none. I stared at a concrete wall the whole time.
Jeremy had his hands full running the camera. A second person would usually ask the questions and give me verbal and non-verbal feedback. But this time it was just me and a smooth, grey wall with a blobby brown spot that I looked at intently for over an hour. I tell you what: it's hard to make a joke and have the concrete wall not laugh back at you. So I laughed at my own jokes. A few I groaned at.
Anyhoo, here it is. It's a 13-minute sermonette. It's a rationale for the arts center that Phaedra and I hope some day to establish in Austin. I'm not sure how I feel about the lamb chops, though.
David Taylor-In His Own Words from The Austin Stone on Vimeo.
(PHOTO: Maya Lin's "Wave Field" qua Rosa Parks Circle Ice Rink, a landscape architectural project that not only renovated a "broken down" space in the middle of Grand Rapids, it also created a beautiful reproduction of a planetarium's starlight in the surface of the skating rink. See here for her conceptual process.)
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Comments
Great video and vision. I hope God enables you to make it happen!
I'm not sure I ever got a chance to thank you for taking the time to give me advice last year. In case you forgot, I called you in regard to my decision to pursue a ministry in the arts or a PhD in Literature. I ended up pursuing the degree in Literature, and now I'm just down the street from you at Baylor. God's really blessed my wife and I in this decision and I'm excited about using my degree to help people think more biblically about the arts, and (Lord willing) encourage young artists relationally to do good work for the Lord. I'm also writing for www.ChristandPopCulture.com to help accomplish that end on a different level.
Anyway, all that to say, thanks for the counsel, God bless.
-Alan
When I first arrived at Hope Chapel I struggled with an allergic reaction to the broad category of religious art. In time, though, I had a change of heart. I realized your point exactly: that I didn't have to choose between religious and non-religious art as subject matters. My choice was between art that was well-made and the rest of the lot.
Jim, you know I admire you greatly. And I like you. And in the case of your comments, I say: Amen!
Adam: your comment makes me think of all the good theology I read in seminary. God's work is not to homogenize or flatten all of creation (that "white rob" fixation thing), it's to enable each particular thing to become more fully and truly itself, alive with life. Love it.
Alan: congrats on your decision. We need good Literature peeps. And a warm welcome to Waco. We're only an hour and a half away. I imagine our paths will cross soon enough. Anyhoo, may the blessing of John Leclercq be upon you: that the love of learning and the desire for God only grow greater with your studies.
@ David: I'd like to hear more about this art center; I don't remember reading about it before on your blog. I have a possibly similar idea: http://theaestheticelevator.com/tag/christian-art-center/
I just like to give David grief.
I agree with you about the breadth of an artists work. Although my work recently has been mostly of a religious nature if you look at all of the 200 + paintings I have done in my life so far you would see a wide range of subject matter all of it informed by my faith but much of it not religious. I think what we are all striving for is quality no matter what the subject matter. Plus I want any Christian artist who wants to pursue religious themes to feel encouraged to do so even though they'll never make any money at it or be very popular with the ART establishment.
Jim: I love you, man! Just like in the movie.
Becky: thanks for saying hi and I'm glad the video was helpful. That makes me happy.
I so appreciate your thoughts on 'art," (what a dubious word). It further extended the joy I had of our brief conversation in Ambridge, PA.
I'd love to continue dialogue, and if blogs are the way to do that, so be it. I've recently succumbed to the trend here: sammhodges.blogspot.com.
grace and peace,
Samm
One comment, you make a fuss on the video about some nudity in one of the paintings. I took it as you being silly, but it is also a big sore spot for me. Christians, by in large, are very squeamish about nudity in art even when it is very appropriate. Can you speak to this?
Sarah: I was being silly, yes. I'm sorry I didn't have more time to give an honest opinion. We'll have to leave that for another video. I wrote an article for Christianity Today on profanity, violence, and nudity. You can read it here: http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/2004/violenceprofanitynudity.html.
I've thought long and hard about the question of nudity and art-making. In fact, I seriously considered submitting a Ph.D. proposal on nudity in the context of modern dance. Fun stuff, that. Well I opted instead for an investigation of Richard Hooker's aesthetics.
Along the way, though, I bought two books: Leo Steinberg's *The Sexuality of Christ in Renaissance Art and in Modern Oblivion* and *The Nude" by Kenneth Clark. They were valuable resources.
Plenty of Christians within CIVA have wrestled with this question. I'd suggest you try to contact them for further resources. Folks like Ed Knippers certainly puts the matter gloriously in your face. Mostly, I think, we're still young as evangelical Christians in our understanding of nudity and art. I won't speak for Catholics and Orthodox on this, but I know it's neither simple nor straightforward for either.
I'm genuinely sorry this topic has made you sore. I imagine you've received all kinds of reactions well-intended but perhaps woefully misguided Christians about your sculpture or your ideas about sculpture. I don't think we'll have to fight this fight forever.
What we need in the meantime in Christian scholars willing to write on the subject and believer artists, in all media, brave enough to make work in this vein, not as a gimmick or a juvenile act of protest but as an honest exploration of the implications of the Incarnation.
That would be pretty awesome, in every sense of that word.
http://www.christianitytoday.com/movies/commentaries/2004/violenceprofanitynudity.html
Well, here's the part that got cut off:
s/2004/violenceprofanitynudity.html
Thanks for saying via the blog.
And again: well done!
Thanks for the video--especially the humor. I am a painter and writer, mostly (and really struggle with the issue of making subtly spiritual work, much less getting it seen), but I also seem to be being inexorably drawn towards organizing an arts ministry and/or center here in Richmond, Va.; in that endeavor I would very much appreciate some connectedness with others on a similar path. We corresponded very briefly after I missed the TC event, but have never met in person. This time I get to not meet you again at the Arts Pastors Retreat, though I'll be in Austin the following week for another conference Monday to Wednesday, where Andy C. will be talking, too. I was hoping maybe we could grab a cup of coffee or something then if you're available. I'd e-mail you directly but for the fact that I didn't know how. You can get flavor of my visual (and written, for that matter) work at www.marksprinkle.com, and e-mail me at mark@ that same address. Do you check this blog often, I wonder? Thanks!
I'll send you another email so we can reconnect electronically.
Intersted in hearing some examples of those around you living out the 7 suggestions.