LifeSpace Art

Golden States of Grace

2009-07-18T10:33:00.002-05:00

Acting as a voice for the voiceless often involves a camera. In "Golden States of Grace: Prayers of the Disinherited," Rick Nahmias gives image and voice to individuals and groups on the margins of society in California. He presents their worship as a means of refuge, redemption, and community. File it under sociology, art, or inter-religious dialogue—this is a multi-sensory exploration of what it means to be human.

FFFFound!

2009-01-02T06:54:00.003-06:00

Skimming through a list of top websites from 2008, I got lost on FFFFound!, an ever-changing catalog of fabulous images from a wide variety of sources on the web. These are not nature scenes, but human creations that will likely stimulate your own creativity. Enjoy!

Caveman

2008-03-17T09:50:00.005-05:00

I noticed one of my favorite live performances is back in Dallas next week: Rob Becker’s one-person show titled “Defending the Caveman.” The show promotes peace between the sexes as it teeters on the tightrope between acknowledging the differences between women and men while celebrating the diversity. Tim and I see the show every few years as a sure-fire 90 minutes of hold-your-ribs laughter.

Becker begins by establishing his performance space within the Sacred Circle of Dirty Underwear. He explores how a chip bowl gets refilled, what happens in a furniture store, and why a guy thinks with only one part of his body when in amorous pursuit. Becker helps both sexes see themselves as complementary to the other. No bashing or gnashing of teeth, but plenty of people in the audience elbowing the person next to them repeatedly. Yes, that IS you. What? You think that is ME?

Check out http://www.defendingthecaveman.com/ to find out when the show will be in a city near you or your travels in the future. Married or single, the show will leave you feeling hopeful as you navigate the oft-treacherous waters of relationships between the sexes.

HOLE-Y BOXES

2008-01-07T21:52:00.000-06:00

The boxes stand about 10 feet tall. There are over 20 of them. Some act square as others elongate into rectangular behavior. Their concrete construction means you will not sneak off with one in the night.

Donald Judd, a founder in the minimalist art movement, placed each box just precisely so in the middle of a cow pasture outside Marfa, Texas. Tall grass lives with mesquite and cottonwood trees and concrete boxes that look like dice rolled out on a large tabletop. You can imagine the local ranchers’ reactions to this tableau. Maybe the boxes could be used to store hay?

We talk about box-y life in LifeSpace. Box-iness that constricts and minimalizes life with God. Judd found a way through the boundaries. His boxes are windows into another horizon as they frame the possibility of what is beyond. I got in the boxes and stuck my whole body out the other side into the expanse. I appreciated Judd’s portals into air.

When I am in despair over our uninspired way of being church or the ungraciousness of Christians or one more “Real Men Love Jesus” bumper sticker, the boxes help me remember there is a way through. There is hope. Joni

Horizon

2007-11-01T19:49:00.000-05:00

You can use the brush of a Japanese monk
or a pencil stub from a race track.

As long as you draw the line a third
the way up from the bottom of the page
the effect is the same: the world suddenly
divided into its elemental realms.

A moment ago there was only a piece of paper.
Now there is earth and sky, sky and sea.

You were sitting alone in a small room.
Now you are walking into the heat of a vast desert
or standing on the ledge of a winter beach
watching the light on the water, light in the air.

—Billy Collins

A Familiar Face

2007-09-23T21:18:00.000-05:00

Julie and I were at Wheaton College in August, simultaneously rejoicing and fighting back tears while dropping off the first of our children to leave home for college. Taking a break from one of the many parent information meetings, I was surprised by a familiar face in the Billy Graham Center. Well, not actually surprised by the face. The exhibit was advertised all over campus. I was surprised by its size. Behind the crowd ropes, covering most of the back wall from floor to ceiling, was the image that had hung in an 18 inch frame over my grandmother's living room sofa. It was Warner Sallman's "Head of Christ"—much bigger than life-size version.

In American Jesus: How the Son of God Became a National Icon, Stephen Prothero notes that this painting "would eventually be reproduced in almost every imaginable form—on prints, plaques, bookmarks, funeral cards, church bulletins, buttons, calendars, clocks, lamps, coffee mugs, stickers, billboards, and key chains. As it multiplied, among Christians and non-Christians alike, this picture helped to transform Jesus from a celebrity into a national icon. As of the turn of the twenty-first century, over 500 million copies had been produced, making Head of Christ the most common religious image in the world." Many thought the image made Jesus more accessible. Divorcing him from the Gospel narratives with a head and shoulders portrait in soft light, Sallman offered an image of Jesus that was warm, approachable, and—he thought—masculine.

Why did its popularity fade? Even in the sixties, critics derided it as too soft, too effeminate, and too transcendent. It made Jesus look kind, but not empathetic—a Jesus who sees our pain, but does not share it. Fortunately, the realities of life draw us to the real Jesus, of whom Bonhoeffer said, "Only the suffering God can help."

Bob

Zambian Fabrics

2007-09-12T03:54:00.000-05:00

The ten ladies we visited in Ndola gather several days each week to pray and work together. Sharing two sewing machines and some basic supplies, they did embroidery, produced tie dye and batik fabrics, and sustained one another through difficult times. Most are mothers or grandmothers. All are sisters and artists.

Eiffel Tower

2007-05-26T19:42:00.001-05:00

The plaque on the wall of the Dallas Museum of Art reads, "Robert Delaunay's Eiffel Tower is an emphatic celebration of modernity. The soaring wrought iron girders of the Eiffel Tower, erected for the Paris International Exposition in 1889, had already become an icon of the modern age. The whirling propeller forms at the upper left are also symbols of technological advancement, an allusion to the heroic cross-Channel flight of Louis Bleriot in 1911. With the jumble of multiple perspectives--bird's eye view from the tower, head-on cruciform pattern of the propellers--the artist attempts to capture the dizzying effects of height and speed. This painting joins others with a similarly optimistic attitude toward the progress of the modern industrial world."

I am writing (and you are reading) on a machine that could not have been imagined in Delaunay's day, yet we do not share the optimistic spirit of a century ago. Technology has proven to be a double-edged sword. However, Jacques Ellul may have been right when he argued that real hope is found only when lesser hopes have been exhausted. We look at Eiffel Tower with historical interest, and we find hope in the real world outside.

Walking to the Sky

2007-04-27T23:46:00.000-05:00

I drive past the Nasher Sculpture Center almost every morning, and I always turn to catch a glimpse of Jonathan Borofsky's "Walking to the Sky." It is whimsical and inviting even from a distance, but even more so while standing at the sculpture's base. From that vantage point, it feels as though we are all walking in single file. It is my turn to step up on the pole.

Where are we going? I do not see this as a stairway to heaven, let alone a more artistic version of the old "rapture in Dallas" painting. We are not being caught up with Jesus, and there are no catastrophies left behind. We are choosing to step upward and outward. Away from here. Toward breathing space.

Bob

Redeemed from Incurvature

2007-02-16T22:54:00.000-06:00

This photograph was taken by one of my students, Rebekah Leong, at the Hakone Open Air Museum in Japan. The sculpture by Guiliano Vangi is titled, "Grande Racconto," the Great Story.

I don't know if the artist and I are perceiving the same story in this work, but I see someone redeemed from the incurvature of their soul. The figure in the middle is turned inward, curled into a little ball by crushing self-absorption. The likeness can be one of depression, sadness, or simply smallness. The posture seems safe, but tragic and disengaged. In this case, however, the man has begun to look upward from himself. There is a hint of hope.

The other figure heads out open-chested, with gaze lifted. It is a posture of possibility and gladness, one that embraces life with a sense of hopeful anticipation.

I do not know how you see the story here, but I see the two figures as different experiences of the same person. It is an image of redemption from incurvature, a turn outward toward engagement with God and others. It is the story of salvation.

Bob

The Saints Are Coming

2007-01-06T12:18:00.000-06:00

My sons have been watching a music video by U2 and Green Day, "The Saints are Coming." It makes a powerful statement--a cry in hope that this day of "not the way it's supposed to be" will give way to a day in which righteousness reigns, even through our showing up. "I cried to my daddy on the telephone, 'How long now? Until the clouds unroll and you come home.'"

How long now?

See the video here.

Looking Closely

2006-11-21T14:46:00.000-06:00

A Monet print hangs over my desk: "The Artist's Garden at Vetheuil." I have had it for three years. Two weeks ago I paused to look more closely at the figures on the steps, not just the child in the foreground. One week ago I sat in front of the original at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., enjoying its color and texture in a way that can only be appreciated in person. Five minutes ago I learned that the central figure is not, as I have always thought, a little girl by a bench. It is Monet's young son, with a wagon.

I will be the first to admit that I am an untrained amateur when it comes to art. I need help. I need our friend Monte the artist to help me see what I am seeing. I need a good field guide to tell me what I should expect. I need to take the time to see things in person. Once there, I need to take the time to look more closely. This portion of our website is as much for me as for anyone else. It reminds me to look, and to look more closely. As Gary Collins wrote, "To me, the purpose of the arts is to introduce people to life in all its breadth and complexity and thereby to find oneself, others, the world and God more fully."

Bob

Cliff Dancing

2006-10-19T09:41:00.000-05:00

What do you get when you cross rock climbing with dance? They call it Project Bandaloop, a company that "creates a blend of dance, sport, ritual, and environmental awareness." The photographs and videos on their website offer an opportunity to celebrate both divine and human creativity.

Members of Project Bandaloop were in Dallas this week as part of the grand opening of a new building. We went to see them, and I took a few pictures. They were not dangling from a cliff in Colorado, but it still looked like fun. I heard someone in the crowd say that the dancers' moves were "death defying," but that was overly dramatic. They never appeared to be in any danger. Their dance, however, was life affirming, and that was far better. It was creative, exhuberant play.
Bob

Painting the Weather

2006-08-26T23:03:00.000-05:00

The BBC is hosting a major art show, "Painting the Weather," available only on the web. You can choose between ten different kinds of weather and "see the nation's best weather pictures."

The paintings deal with more than just about the weather--Delacroix's crucifixion is included in "cloudy"--but it is a fun way to browse some beautiful works of art. An audio tour is available, as are brief notes about each painting. You can pick a desktop to match the weather outside, or perhaps to alert others about your mood.

It is late August and we are in Dallas, Texas. How about "Midsummer"?

Psalms of Boredom

2006-08-17T00:18:00.000-05:00

The Psalms of Boredom are
missing from the Bible.

Check out the video by Steve Collins.

(We found this link on one of our favorite websites: Jonny Baker's blog.)

A Happy Girl

2006-07-12T15:52:00.000-05:00

How is this for dancing feet and swinging arms and singing la-la-la?

Here is another picture from the Joni and Friends Family Retreat. May we all hear that voice inside that says, "Go ahead! Wipe that finger paint on your shirt and let's dance!"

Art of Science

2006-06-24T11:13:00.000-05:00

We could post this under Nature, Art, or, if we had a category for it, "Cool Stuff." Celebrating "the aesthetics of research and the ways in which science and art inform one another," the Art of Science competition at Princeton University offers an online gallery of images that are simply stunning. Enjoy!

Handprints

2006-05-13T13:25:00.000-05:00

Our friend Kelly Alvey, whom we met at last year's Joni and Friends family camp, is one of those gifted people who receives artistic inspiration in the midst of ordinary life. She was driving to work, grimacing at the children's handprints all over the inside of her car's windshield, when she thought about the bloodstained hands of Jesus. (I know. I would not have thought of that either. I would have reached for a paper towel and missed the inspiration entirely.) Kelly thought about it the rest of the morning. What does it mean to view life through those handprints? How might we see past or push aside the distraction of lesser loves? Using some paint, newspaper clippings, and the hands of her autistic child, Kelly tried to portray the idea visually. She hung it in her kitchen window, where it daily reminds this busy mom about priorities, sacrifice, and grace.
Bob

Passion and Resurrection

2006-04-13T11:02:00.000-05:00

This week we celebrate the central proclamation of Christianity: "For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received--that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3-4).

Artists have, of course, presented that truth visually throughout the history of the church. More recently it has been portrayed memorably in film. For all of their power, however, recent films on the life and death of Christ risk limiting our imagination and hindering our contemplation. We see the vision of the director, perhaps, but we too easily idolize Jesus in the face of some actor. On the other hand, the collective insight of generations of artists may enhance our theological reflection, helping us to ponder the cross in all of its mystery and splendor. This Easter week, take some time to sit quietly before multiple images of the cross. You can enjoy those in one of our favorite books, or even online through this wonderful article by Joseph Phelan.

He is risen! Have a delightful Easter.

Laying Yourself in the Way of Allurement

2006-04-10T12:23:00.000-05:00

The Trinity Arts Conference (www.trinityartsconference.com) takes place in Dallas on June 15-18, 2006. We are big fans of Kim Alexander and her partner who make this phenomenal event happen. It is on the beautiful grounds of University of Dallas.

This year's conference is "All Things." From the informational brochure: "Art binds us to this world as it is...Come and explore the unique potential of artists to love all things...as they are...The conference draws filmmakers, journalists, actors, writers, poets, composers, visual artists, dancers, and musicians." If you do not find yourself in one of those categories but love hanging out with those who do, then this conference is perfect for you.

There is a price break for registration before May 15. Check out the website. God will delight you with His presence through the winsome creative gifts.
Joni and Bob

Ears Wide Open

2006-04-04T10:33:00.000-05:00

The husband and I were looking for a unique evening to celebrate 19 years of marriage. It is good to shake things up a bit, so we studiously avoided the default plan of dinner and a movie. Our weekend magazine in the newspaper had listings of happenings around town. We plunged in to try something different.

We went to the local university to hear the finals of the Texas Guitar Festival. Classical guitar students from all over the world competed to win the coveted first prize. God gave us an anniversary gift of delight. We had front and center seats for a mesmerizing performance by the three top finalists. The Austrailian played with comedy and spirit. The Venezuelan brought fire and passion. The Spaniard demonstrated flawless technique. The notes burst from their guitars and swirled around the concert hall. The music made our evening magical.

Your local schools and universities are excellent avenues for experiencing the creative arts of humanity. You can see and hear young artists who may someday be tomorrow's greats. You can celebrate the muse in us all. If you have no appreciation of visual art, performance art, music, or literature, look for courses at your community colleges or university. Get a CD series on classical music from your library. Attend the new opening of an art exhibit. Make an investment in these avenues of delight. For very little, if any cost, the return is the best!

God wrapped His gift of 19 years of marriage to a wonderful man in a gift of beautiful music. All made my heart soar.
Joni

You Should Have Been There

2006-04-01T17:38:00.000-06:00

In addition to being a very nice guy, our new friend Stephen Nielson is a concert pianist, an elder in his local church, and an insightful conversation partner. We met with him last week to talk about the role of music in LifeSpace. We know that music, like visual art, needs to be more than an afterthought. Sometimes it needs to represent the leading voice, the integrating force of our thinking and presentation. But we are most comfortable around words. How might we honor the voice of music? How might we be changed by it? How might we use it for the glory of God?

Even though he sells CD's on his website, Stephen believes there is no substitute for live performance. How can music communicate? He sat at the Steinway grand for a demonstration.

Expansion . . . hope . . . joy's eternal increase -- Stephen took each idea, merged it with a melody, and filled the room with music.

You should have been there. Really. You should have been there, because I can't translate it back into words. We felt the texture of each note as the music washed over us. A CD would be lovely, but it could never be as fully sensual as that moment when the last note hung in the air and we all sat motionless, eyes closed, and breathed it in.

We promise to share. Something is incubating, but we do not yet know what it will be. In the meantime, find yourself some live music--unplugged--and let it speak.

Bob

Dance

2006-03-04T22:52:00.000-06:00

dance (dans) n.

A series of motions and steps, usually performed to music.
The art of dancing: studied dance in college.
A party or gathering of people for dancing; a ball.
One round or turn of dancing: May I have this dance?
A musical or rhythmical piece composed or played for dancing.
The act or an instance of dancing.

Twyla Tharp wrote, "You can't just dance or paint or write or sculpt. Those are just verbs. You need a tangible idea to get you going. The idea, however miniscule, is what turns the verb into a noun--paint into a painting, sculpt into sculpture, write into writing, dance into a dance."

Last evening I had an opportunity to see a dance. A friend was performing with her high school dance company, so we went to see her. There were ideas in action on the stage. Some were dramatic, like Robert Battle's "The Hunt." Others were more traditional, like Fernando Hernandez's "Tamaulipas Huasteco." Our favorite was "Calm, Cool, and Collected," by Jay Franke. The stage was filled with life, energy, color, and teens dancing to the exuberant saxophone of John Coltrane. The dancers portrayed common interactions with joyful, unbounded enthusiasm--our friend told us later that she laughed all the way through the piece--and the audience was caught up in the mood.

I don't know what creative idea put this particular dance into motion. I do know the feeling that resulted.

Life is sweet. Don't wait for someone's birthday to make it a party.

Bob

Fingerpainting the Spirit

2006-02-22T23:28:00.000-06:00

Tonight's LifeSpace class focused on the Holy Spirit as the Giver of Life. We began by drawing boxes with black Sharpie markers on white paper. Many approaches to life with God either attempt to put the Spirit in one of those boxes or expect the Spirit to draw such lines around us. So little color. So little life.

But the Spirit as God's Breath is unpredictable. "You don't know where it is from," Jesus said, "or where it is going." The Spirit will not be boxed in so easily. Convinced that the Spirit brings life in technicolor, we passed out some fingerpaint. Here is the result:

The lines have been overshadowed by that which is unpredictable, delightful, and bursting with color. Not a bad image for the work of the Spirit!

Joni and Bob

The Love of Old Books

2006-02-10T09:05:00.000-06:00

In New Haven this week for a theology conference, I made a pilgrimage Monday afternoon to the Beinecke Library at Yale University. The library houses rare books and fragile old manuscripts, and they have most of the sermons and letters of Jonathan Edwards. Anyone who listens to me and Joni teach on LifeSpace knows that we love Edwards. He was an 18th century pastor and theologian who was so influential in America's "Great Awakening." We also love old books. A visit to the Beinecke qualifies as a religious experience.

The manuscript I requested was brought to me in a large box. Inside was a cardboard envelope, about 5 inches square. I placed it on the table and gingerly unfolded it, exposing the 270 year old sermon. Handwritten on soft thin pages, the script was tiny and almost indecipherable. It did not matter that I could not read most of the words. I leaned forward and enjoyed the musty scent of the paper.

Some portions of the sermon must have flowed easily. The handwriting was stylish and the sentences smooth. Other paragraphs were more labored. Words were crossed out. The script was uneven. Ink blots and apparent slips of the pen suggested weariness.

Those thin pages were the art of captured thought. There is a sadness when I think of today's writing on this screen. Mistakes are invisible. Erased as if never occurring. The ebb and flow of writing is ironed out flat. The mark of the hand disappears. The beauty of process is lost in the efficiency of the keyboard.

As I said, my time in the library that day was a religious experience. They made me give the manuscript back. I am still trying to get over it.
Bob

A Passion for Color

2006-01-30T13:29:00.000-06:00

The Whitney Museum of American Art is exhibiting Oscar Bluemner: A Passion for Color until February 12. The museum's website states, "Examining Bluemner's evolution from a budding architect to a key innovator in the modernist shift to abstraction, the exhibition surveys the artist's entire oeuvre, from the pictorial, architectural renderings of his early years to the richly symbolic, color-infused landscapes that established his place among the leading artists of his day."
The painting shown here, "Aspiration (Winfield)" (1911, repainted 1916-1917) lifts the gaze with its impression of refracted light. Exhibition curator Barbara Haskell says, "The effect was of looking at nature through a prism."

The Fresnel lens of a lighthouse intensifies light through refraction. A prism breaks it into distinct colors. Both magnify the display of glorious light. So let this be our aspiration: As we enjoy the radiant glory of God, may we reflect it back to Him. May we refract and display His beauty in the world that He has made.

Bob

(image scanned from American Art Review, Sep-Oct 2005)

Art Right Side Up

2006-01-23T14:36:00.000-06:00

We mentioned our artist friend, Monte. He helps us see the world from a different slant. Bob and I love words. We collect them like treasures. Monte is not a great fan of words. He will take an image over a word any day.

Monte was looking over my shoulder last week at some pictures I had from a recent trip. Sunrises. I was turning the digital images right side up. Monte abruptly said, "Stop!" For him, the images were perfect sideways. He did not even see them as sideways. He saw art right side up. I had to force myself to hold my head straight as I looked at the pictures. It kept drifting sideways. Monte's head never wavered.

approaching art chest open

A lesson in approaching art "chest open." Laying aside presumptions about how things are. Considering another view of reality. Coming at understanding sideways. Taking a deep breath of creative beauty so that your chest opens wide. Your horizon of sight, internal and external, broadens. A lesson to be liberally applied in this human life.

Joni

Jackson Lake

2006-01-09T12:30:00.000-06:00

Julie and I were drinking in the beauty of Jackson Lake when I saw this cairn of human creativity. The aesthetic impulse springs forth in the presence of God's creative genius. We were awed by the stars that night. Bright reflections on the dark surface of the lake. A perfect venue for delight! Bob

Little Brother

2005-10-27T10:45:00.000-05:00

The title picture used for this forum is art produced by a dear friend, Monte Martin. He takes discarded photographs and extracts one interesting, tiny segment. That segment becomes the focus of Monte's art. Nice touch using that which has been discarded to produce beauty. If you put white mural paper on a wall . . . give Monte a cigar and good red wine . . . put any drawing utensil in his hand . . . off he goes, creating wildness.

We call Monte our "little brother." If he was available for adoption, we would close the deal. Monte is a source of inspiration and encouragement for us. We think we are cool because we know someone that wears all black. He accompanies us into the art world and interprets for us when we get lost in the translation.

We all need a Monte in our lives. We need people who see the world through different lens and are willing to translate the language. Step out there. Find a gallery opening or bop down to the local museum. Get tickets to the symphony or pick up your old guitar. See the Nutcracker or the holiday play at the children's theatre this season. Take your child or borrow someone else's child. Ask questions. Stand back and say, "Hmmm." Laugh or cry. Engage the best humans offer as they mimic their Creator. Collect friends like Monte. May you find great delight in the process.

The LifeSpace Logo

2005-10-26T19:34:00.000-05:00

The LifeSpace logo was designed by Celeste Rader-Philips.