The Vision: Christ in culture through the arts & media.
Is Contemporary Christian Art Second Rate?
I’ve recently been reading “Imagine- A Vision for Christians in the Arts”; a book that many of you may be familiar with by Steve Turner. Steve comes out of the gates with a concept that unfortunately is not uncommon: that a lot of Christian contemporary art is of poor quality, yet a great deal of art created by non-Christians is of good quality. His point is that many Christian artists use their redemptive experience as the sole driver in their artistic expression, forsaking basics like training, exploring creative culture and old fashioned practice the way that many (not all but many) non Christian artists do.
Here’s how Turner breaks it down:
1. Talent: You’re Born With It. Every artists starts out at the same point with being blessed with God-given talent and ability.
2. Skill: You Have Control Over It. That’s what’s within your control. You have the ability to grow and perfect that God-given talent through the natural. Classes, training, school, tutorials. Not all artist do it, but those that perfect their skill command attention and a voice whether they are Christians or not.
3. Inspiration: You Look For It. From people, from experiences and, for the Christian artist, from the Spirit of God Himself.
Where the Christian artist gets in trouble is that they start with #1 (Talent), run with #3 (Inspiration) inspired by their own redemptive experience, but forsake a lot of #2 (Skill, or the further development of it) and don’t pursue sharpening their skills to compete for the attention of today’s audience.
I’ve seen this frustrate the likes of the independent Christian comics artist and others that are inspired to create a project to reach the people of today, but fail to bring the quality up to that which the people of today have come to expect.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Here’s how Turner breaks it down:
1. Talent: You’re Born With It. Every artists starts out at the same point with being blessed with God-given talent and ability.
2. Skill: You Have Control Over It. That’s what’s within your control. You have the ability to grow and perfect that God-given talent through the natural. Classes, training, school, tutorials. Not all artist do it, but those that perfect their skill command attention and a voice whether they are Christians or not.
3. Inspiration: You Look For It. From people, from experiences and, for the Christian artist, from the Spirit of God Himself.
Where the Christian artist gets in trouble is that they start with #1 (Talent), run with #3 (Inspiration) inspired by their own redemptive experience, but forsake a lot of #2 (Skill, or the further development of it) and don’t pursue sharpening their skills to compete for the attention of today’s audience.
I’ve seen this frustrate the likes of the independent Christian comics artist and others that are inspired to create a project to reach the people of today, but fail to bring the quality up to that which the people of today have come to expect.
What are your thoughts on the issue?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Ann Boyer LePere on -
"What you say and how you say it" has always covered talent, skill and content. I do agree with your statements. Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Christians have access to magnificent content, but often lack the skillset to portray it with authority. Lack of actual training in art (and music) in America is missing. Public school funding for the arts curriculum, the "just express yourself" mantra and the self esteem trap are all ingredients in stifling creative excellence. As the American Church imitates American culture, we end up with art (and music) that are often lacking on the skill side. For an earful on why classical training is essential visit: www.artrenewal.org. It is also an amazing site that catalogs great western art. Warning: many nudes - generally appropriate and in context.
Oh, and then there's the part where the Church doesn't know what to do with artists and/or is suspicious of them, so parents rarely seek real training for the young ones.
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Permalink Reply by Edward van Vliet on -
i've always said that the best story wins. and we do have the best story. the problem is that we sometimes tell it poorly. i find the art renewal center website fascinating - while i love the lusciousness of alma-tadema and the pre-raphaelites in general, bougereau (who seems to be a particular fave) makes my teeth hurt. certainly, the academic system has fallen by the wayside (though are still ateliers around who teach those skills) and some of those skills are not taught very much. then again, i did do glazing and drawing from classical sculptures and models during my degree so i feel i have at least some of those skills. i have issues when realism rather than those technical skills are highlighted, as those skills can be applied to other styles. further, the content is an important component, and i'm not convinced that the mimetic tradition trumps content.
that said, a lot of the artists on that site sure have chops!
i think the main issue between the church and artists is that the church's first responsibility is to focus on artists as disciples first and focus on their spiritual health and maturity. and then the artists should seek out opportunities to develop their skills and serve. i'm not sure it's the church's responsibility to train potential artists. i wonder whether or not more artists would actually be raised up and released into their calling through the church if those artists chose to serve their local bodies, and lay aside their self-expression?
Ann Boyer LePere said:"What you say and how you say it" has always covered talent, skill and content. I do agree with your statements. Thanks for bringing up the topic.
Christians have access to magnificent content, but often lack the skillset to portray it with authority. Lack of actual training in art (and music) in America is missing. Public school funding for the arts curriculum, the "just express yourself" mantra and the self esteem trap are all ingredients in stifling creative excellence. As the American Church imitates American culture, we end up with art (and music) that are often lacking on the skill side. For an earful on why classical training is essential visit: www.artrenewal.org. It is also an amazing site that catalogs great western art. Warning: many nudes - generally appropriate and in context.
Oh, and then there's the part where the Church doesn't know what to do with artists and/or is suspicious of them, so parents rarely seek real training for the young ones.
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