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Tuesday, 7 April 2009

art as an expression of faith

I was sitting down yesterday evening and decided to get out my sketch pad and pencils. That makes me sound like I do it regularly, but it is very rare for me to do any drawing these days. And without the practise needed, I struggle to create the likeness and perspective that I want. Also, my painful hands are a bit of a problem (note to self-go back to doctor).

However, I decided impulsively to draw my own "picture" of Jesus, since I have been thinking about images of Jesus in this Easter season. This was the result:



I found it quite satisfying to do, and would like to try more, using different expressions and situations. (Note: this is a photograph, not a scan.)

It also made me ponder on the nature of an artist's impression of an event or a person. I was thinking about how there may be elements we disagree with, having seen/imagined it differently. But also how it may open our eyes to a new way of seeing things, evoking an element or facet of something we had not previously discovered.

So, some questions it brought to mind:

  • How can we use art as an expression of faith?
  • Is there are certain style or piece of art that has impacted you?
  • What do you think of as 'art'?

Today: 4/10, medium

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I think of art as a creative expression. That may be writing, dance, drawing, cutting, pasting, music, sewing, knitting, painting, etc. The list could go on and on. I see God's creation as a beautiful creative expression of art.
Your sketch is wonderful, I might add!

Judith said...

Last year at Spring Harvest I came across artwork by Oliver Pengilley - I couldn't afford his work but purchased a DVD entitled 'Representation' animated paintings an act of worship which Oliver and Jim Pooley had compiled and I do enjoy watching it on my own.

Oliver says I asked God, "Is there a way to draw people closer into you through an image?" Jesus answered by giving me the idea to record my paintings as they were being formed, not just as one imagine, but as an animation.

www.oliverpengilley.co.uk
www.jimpooleyl.com

Tricia said...

Some people don't think of photography as art, but a good photograph is one where a person has made creative decisions about the placement of the subject, how to crop the photo if necessary, and (with today's technology) how to make software choices that will enhance a photo. So it definitely falls under the "art as creative expression" definition of angeljoy.

I think I've shared this before, but when I take photos of zoo animals or other wildlife/nature subjects and post them on our web site, I do so with the idea of showing how unique and beautiful even the so-called "ugliest" can be. God made them all, and their diversity is absolutely amazing. Whether that translates into the average person saying, "Wow, God is terrific," I don't know, but I do know that I'm amazed at God's creativity every time I look at these photos. (Er...every time I look at the good photos, that is, lol!)

"The desperate need today is not for a greater number of intelligent people, or gifted people, but for deep people."- Richard Foster