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RELIGIOUS UTTERANCES - art of faith introduces the reader to humanity's historic relationship between art and faith. This daily series of articles examines the interlacing of art and faith from across the Anglican Communion. The title of the series, Religious Utterances, comes from systematic theologian Dr. Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu, whose work seeks "a recovery of humanity's religious utterances through art."
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RELIGIOUS UTTERANCES - art of faith
Eighteen in a series
Welcome Home Cross by Gurdon Brewster
Theme: Vision

About the Sculptor, The Rev. Gurdon Brewster
Gurdon Brewster, born in 1937, has pursued a double calling during his life: being a university chaplain and also being a sculptor.

His interest in sculpture began in high school and continued during his college years at Haverford College. Studying sculpture throughout college, he donated a bronze bust of one of his favorite teachers, which remains on display in the music building. While attending Union Theological Seminary in New York, he studied with various individuals and institutions, including the Art Students’ League where he worked briefly with Jose de Creeft. During his senior year, he made a portrait bust of Reinhold Niebuhr, which is displayed in the Union Seminary library.my family full size

While at seminary, in 1961, he was invited by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to be an assistant minister during the summer, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. While there he lived with Martin Luther King Sr. and worked in the church with its youth group and youth groups from around the city. He returned again in 1966 as an assistant for the summer with his family, his wife, Martha, and two daughters. He has written about his experiences in a memoir entitled, No Turning Back.

Rev Brewster is the Founder, with Mrs. Phoebe Griswold, of Episcopal Church and Visual Arts. More about Rev Brewster is available at his website here.

About the Sculpture, Welcome Home Cross
Welcome home is at the heart of our spiritual life. This sculpture is more than the father welcoming home the prodigal son. It is also the mother and daughter, the son and the mother, two friends long apart, two people who love each other, as well as the lonely, the lost, the rejected and the guilty finding God’s absolute acceptance in the heart of the cross.

The vertical and horizontal beams are joined by the circle. The shape suggesting unity, coming together, and the infinite, the eternal God with us. The bronze figures are placed in the center of the Celtic cross where different worlds come together to make “all things new.”

Ongoing Revelation Through Art
Text by Madeleine Beard

Looking at the Transfiguration in art from the 12th century to the present is a demonstration of the ongoing revelation through art. These artists work in a variety of media and their shows their use of “the intuitive inner eye: The eye of contemplation; the eye of the soul.” (Alex Grey quoted by Daniel Mirante, Alex Grey and Sacred Anatomy)

From the bright, glowing gold of the icon at St. Catherine’s Monastery to the small, intensely colored depiction in the Book of Hours of John of Berry, the artists take us from public to private interpretation of text through art. The St. Catherine’s icon’s communal function contrasts with the intimacy of the painting from the Book of Hours, aimed at a single viewer for private meditation.

The Transfiguration icon of Theophanes the Greek is vividly colored, drawing the viewer into the icon alongside Peter who looks outward and upward.

Giovanni Bellini, an early renaissance artist, painted the Transfiguration in natural light and a realistic landscape. His colors are rich and saturated.

Carl Bloch, a Danish 19th century artist, paints the scene with the disciples in the foreground in vivid color and Moses and Elijah overshadowed by the brilliance of the Transfigured Jesus. Only Jesus faces the viewer and his face is not discernible.

Contemporary artist Solomon Raj paints an Indian Jesus, because “What is needed is not cultural isolation (the existence of many cultures without mutual contact) nor cultural universalism (i.e. the domination of one particular culture without freedom for others) nor uniformity but rather unity through the acknowledgment and interaction of diversified cultural identities and gifts.

"Thus I think everyone, through this sharing of cultural idiom, one will experience the gospel in his own brush like everyone heard the gospel in his own tongue on the Pentecost day.” (P. Solomon Raj, Art, Faith and Culture )

Tim Steele paints Jesus with the face and dress of Abraham Lincoln and God as George Washington. He uses the Transfiguration to comment on America blending of government and religion.

Alex Grey, the last artist in this series, writes, "Though the artist, their art and the viewer are all impermanent, art can provide evidence of contact with the universal creative force beyond time. Art has a function and a mission to interpret the world, to reveal the condition of the soul, to encourage our higher nature and awaken the dormant spiritual faculties within every individual." Grey’s Transfiguration consists of the figure of Christ alone, no disciples, Moses or Elijah. The figure is both enveloped in light and radiating. Grey’s description of the mission of art applies to all these artists. They all interpret the text of the Gospel to their time and place. As they interpret, they reveal and participate in the ongoing quest for understanding and transformation.

Here are links to images of the Transfiguration painted throughout history:

- The Transfiguration, from the Twelve Feasts on an iconostasis beam and dating to the 12th century

- John of Berry's Petites Heures
14th century

- Theophanes the Greek
late 14th century

- Giovanni Bellini
15th century

- Carl Bloch
19th century

- Solomon Raj
20th century

- Tim Steele
20th century

- Alex Grey
late 20th century

On View: The Transfiguration by P. Solomon Raj. 20th century.

About the Author: Madeleine Beard is a Deacon in the Diocese of Maryland.

St Peters Episcopal Church,Beverly, Massachusetts
The Rev. Manuel P. Faria III, Rector

by Kendyll Hillegas

This past fall my husband Eric and I worked with a group of young adults at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Beverly, Massachusetts. We had one main goal: to explore what it means to lead lives that matter. We hammered out this goal in several different ways, by working at the church's already-established Sunday night supper for the homeless, by getting involved collaboratively in another installation at a mental health unit at a local hospital, and by alternating our weeks of work with weeks of study and discussion. We found many common threads in each of these endeavors, but the common thread of incarnation, of Christ's being made human and coming to us as a baby at Advent was what we decided to focus on for the capstone of our group's time together that fall. Thus, as we began thinking and imagining what we might create in the nave, the installation became an opportunity for the tying together in an intellectual and physical way of the incarnation of Christ at Advent.

We began the project by talking about themes. Then the group discussed whether we'd do something like a mural or banner, or an abstract installation. Since many in the group had no art experience we decided to steer towards something that could be engineered, designed, and then built in collaboration.

I started designing the piece in the early fall. Once I had some sketches, I began communicating just as closely with the church leadership as I had been with the young adult group. Thus, it became a collaboration of a number of different levels. After some approval from the Rector on the sketches we decided to go forward and order fabric. Everyone in the church was very supportive as excited. As we waited for the unveiling of the piece, it seemed to even heighten the sense of anticipation for Advent, for Christ's coming.

By October, we had the fabric and I had already completed most of the measuring, and engineering--all that remained was the assembly and installation. We also organized with the church administrator to publish a short article in the November newsletter explaining a little bit about what was going to be happening in the sanctuary in December. I think this was a really wonderful opportunity, as it truly opened up the lines of conversation, and had parishioners thinking and imagining even before the piece was installed.

The piece was installed the Saturday before Advent began, and remained up through Epiphany. The level of interaction with the piece was very exciting. Nearly every member of the congregation had something to say. I was very intentional about withholding any sort of 'answer key' for congregants, and I was so glad I did. Because every time someone came to me to ask, "what does it mean?" and I returned the question to them instead of answering it right away we would both be rewarded with an immensely rich conversation--doubtlessly much richer than if I had simply said, "well the red strand represents Christ, etc."

The piece is made of satin, and chiffon, and hung with fishing wire.

On View: Liturgical Art at St. Peter's Episcopal Church, Beverly MA. The Rev. Manuel P. Faria III, Rector.

About the Author, Kendyll Hillegas: I grew up loving to draw, to imagine, to plan and to act out stories. From a young age, I very much was extremely interested in the arts, but was always discouraged from pursuing them seriously. It wasn't until I was a sophomore at Gordon College and took a Drawing 1 class, just for fun, that I finally began to see that I could integrate all those elements of drama, and beauty and the Christian story, and at that point the fact that it 'didn't fit' within the bounds of a traditional sensible career only made it seem more necessary. I finally merged the art part of my life, and the normal part of my life and moved forward.

During my time at Gordon, I became very interested in exploring the intersection of art and faith. I was fortunate enough to pioneer an internship coordinating efforts between the art department, the chapel and a non-profit arts organization called CIVA. Collaboration was a key element, and I worked with other visual and non-visual artists to coordinate several large-scale projects. I have kept this love of collaboration as a key element to my liturgical work, and also an aspect of my fine art as well as I am always considering the impact/implications of how something will interact in a community.

Since entering the professional art community I have been pursuing two ends, both of which are equally important to me. One is to work with churches at the intersection of art and faith, helping them to explore ways that the visual can serve the sacred in the life of their community. The other is to continue to pursue fine arts, creating pieces that are not necessarily collaborative but nevertheless attempt to tell stories and to interact with individuals and groups.

I think this impulse to collaborate has made it especially exciting and rewarding that my husband Eric, a recently ordained Episcopal priest, has also shared an interest in the intersection of art and faith. In his pursuit of Biblical studies he has often looked through this lens, and allowed both of us many interesting conversations. This fall. he will begin work as a curate in inner city Boston.

Visit Ms. Hillegas' website:
or email her at kendyll.hillegas@gmail.com

We can say so much with a single image that dozens of words can only hope to accomplish. In the late 19th century, Ivan Turgenev (Russian author of Fathers and Sons) aptly wrote , "A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound." In the west, we are more familiar with the proverb "A picture says a thousand words." Both phrases refer to the idea that complex stories can be described with just a single still image, or that an image may be more influential than a substantial amount of text.

This is all well and tidy, but if a picture is speaking prose, what is it actually saying and to whom? Do all viewers of a picture receive the same thousand words? Of course they do not, and the reason why different people receive different messages when looking at an identical picture has to do with visual literacy. Loosely put, 'visual literacy' has to do with the experience of the workings of visual media partnered with a heightened conscious awareness of the workings.

There are four aspects to visual literacy, according to Paul Messaris:
-1- Visual literacy is a pre-requisite for the comprehension of visual media. In other words, for a person to understand what they are looking at, some form of education is in order.
-2- There are general cognitive consequences of visual literacy that are mostly positive. Watching television and other visual media for meaning may enhance the ability to receive meaning from other forms of communication.
-3- There is an awareness of visual manipulation. An improved understanding of visual media might make the viewer more resistant to manipulations attempted by television commercials, political campaigns, and print advertisements.
-4- Aesthetic appreciation can become more informed. For example, in the case of special effects in movies, an understanding of how these effects are produced can dampen the vicarious thrill a viewer receives.

Paul Messaris is associate professor of communication at The Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. He has conducted research on viewers’ awareness of visual manipulation in movies and advertising, and on parent-child discussions about television. A preview of his book is available online through Google Books, Visual Literacy - Image, Mind and Reality and a link to purchase the book is here.

The Episcopal Church Image Shop contains official graphics and logos, together with shields, signs, symbols and photo galleries. These images are available for download in a variety of formats.

On View: Seek First, by Jan Neal.

About the Artists
Jan Neal works primarily in digital painting, design and photography with digital liturgical design and symbol as her primary areas of ecclesiastical artistic interests. Her work has been featured in Episcopal Life, the Morehouse Publishing Christian Planning Calendar, The Apostle, EpiscopalChurch.org, Episcopal Church & Visual Arts, and in a Museum of Biblical Art presentation. She was also a curator and contributing artist for Visual Preludes 2006.

More of Jan’s work may be seen in ECVA’s archived exhibitions, and ECVA’s web site Contacts. She is Director for Exhibitions for ECVA and produces the publicity for her parish, Emmanuel Episcopal Church.

Marilyn Dale Marilyn Dale is a graphic designer, fine artist, marketing expert, and member of CIVA (Christians in the Visual Arts). The chair of the Art and Environment Ministry for her church, she’s designed large-scale liturgical fabric and acrylic pieces. She has written and designed brochures for her church, small businesses, and Fortune 500 companies. Marilyn welcomes commissions in graphic or fine art and is available for logos, brochures, liturgical art ensemble design – vestments, banners and paramounts - as well as opportunities to provide workshops on the creation and management of an Arts Ministry.

Zhongxian Tang Zhongxian Tang was born in China; he received a BA in Fine Arts from Zhejian Fine Arts Academy and an MFA in Computer Arts from School of Visual Arts in NY. Previously he was a graphic designer for IBM US Business Trade Shows, and ABC News. Currently he is a liturgical designer for CM ALMY.

The Soldier Billboard Project
"Thousands of American soldiers are returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. We may wonder what they saw, what they did and how their war experience has affected them as they return to civilian life. These are the questions posed by a series of powerful artist billboards appearing in five cities during this election season.

"Artist Suzanne Opton has photographed soldiers between tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. Her portraits afford the viewer a very intimate and serious look at the young men and women who have put their lives at risk serving in the military. The results are haunting and when they appear on forty-eight foot billboards floating above the freeway in the light of day or eerily illuminated at night, they are compelling and mysterious." from the Soldier Billboard Project Press Release

Suzanne Opton is an art photographer whose public art project is in the news this week. Her Soldier Billboard Project is at the center of a controversy over billboard space. (Read the NY Times story here. Download the Soldier Billboard Project Press Release here)

World War II and the National Gallery of Art
Since World War II, the United States has supported a close relationship between artists and war. "Throughout the war the National Gallery of Art was inspired by the conviction that the great art within its walls represented the highest values for which the nation was fighting. Approximately one quarter of the museum's employees joined the armed forces; in their absence, the remaining staff set about protecting the Gallery's artworks and supporting the war effort on the home front.

"The National Gallery of Art opened to the public in March 1941 on the eve of World War II. Thinking of the battles already being fought in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt said in his dedication speech: 'To accept this work today is to assert the purpose of the people of America--that the freedom of the human spirit and human mind which has produced the world's great art . . . shall not be utterly destroyed.'" Listen to President Roosevelt's dedication speech here. [Source: National Gallery of Art]

Public works of art - The Freedom of the Human Spirit
With the Soldiers Billboard Project, photographer Opton is carrying on an American tradition founded in the 1930's with the Public Works of Art Project. Her portraits dignify the service of the American soldier while tearing down our carefully constructed guard against what it is we as a republic ask these service men and women to do. President Roosevelt's words echo loudly and bear repeating : To accept this work today is to assert the purpose of the people of America--that the freedom of the human spirit and human mind which has produced the world's great art . . . shall not be utterly destroyed.

On View: Soldier: Williams, 396 days in Iraq. Photograph, Copyright © 2008, Suzanne Opton, www.suzanneopton.com. Used with permission.

About the artist: Suzanne Opton is an art photographer in New York, New York. Her work has been exhibited across the United States and internationally, with a recent solo exhibition of Soldier at the Musee de l'Elyee in Lausanne, Switzerland. Her website is www.suzanneopton.com.