DESCRIPTION:

This course is an introduction to Christian reflection on the visual arts. Emphasis will be on developing a Christian perspective on the arts and aesthetics, that is informed by biblical, historical and theological resources and that is familiar with ways the major Christian traditions have made use of the arts. By slides and museum visits, students will be exposed to significant examples of western art as a way of developing a critical appreciation and a Christian appropriation of this dimension of life--both as spirituality and as witness.

It is becoming increasingly obvious that a relevant witness to the gospel demands a cultural literacy. This is important for Christians to understand their own faith, and the cultural influences on it, but also for them to understand the world of others. Since the visual arts inform (and are informed by) the dominant values of a culture, they provide essential components in developing the theory and practice of ministry.

The course will include lecture and discussion that seeks to give students a basic understanding of biblical, historical and theological issues. Slides and visits will present examples of great Christian art in order to develop skills of visual literacy. Class will meet weekly for three-hour sessions.

Dyrness, William. Visual Faith: Art, Theology and Worship in Dialogue. Baker, 2001.

Rookmaaker, H. R. Modern Art and the Death of a Culture. Apollos, 1994 [orig. 1971].

Zelensky, Elizabeth and Lela Gilbert. Windows to Heaven: Introducing Icons to Protestants and Catholics. Baker/Brazos, 2004.

Course reader.

Begbie, Jeremy. Voicing Creation's Praise: Toward a Theology of the Arts. Blackwell, 1991 (2001).

Bouchard, Margaret. A Journey Toward Christian Art. Fortress, 1999.

Evdokimov, Paul. The Art of the Icon: A Theology of Beauty. Oakwood, 1986.

Dyrness, William. Rouault: A Vision of Suffering and Salvation. Eerdmans, 1971.

Hofstadter, Albert and Richard Kuhns, eds. Philosophies of Art and Beauty: Selected Readings in Aesthetics from Plato to Heidegger. University of Chicago, 1976.

Rookmaaker, H. R. The Creative Gift: Essays on Art and the Christian Life. Crossways, 1981.

Scarry, Elaine. On Beauty and Being Just. Princeton, 1999.

Seerveld, Calvin. Rainbows for the Fallen World. Tuppence, 1980.

Viladescau, R. Theology & the Arts: Encountering God through Music, Art & Rhetoric. Paulist, 2000.

Walford, E. John. Great Themes in Art. Prentice-Hall, 2000.

Wolterstorff, Nicholas. Art in Action. Eerdmans, 1980.

The course grade will depend on three elements. First, a 4-5 page review of a work of art (or comparison of 2 works) either from an art book (see recommended reading) or an art exhibition or museum, interacting with the work from the Christian perspective developed in the first part of the course (20% of grade). Two longer papers (8-10 pp., each worth 40%) will focus on (1) the art of a particular religious tradition and (2) a particular artist or art movement.

M.Div./ M.A. in Theology and Arts, core; meets the M.A.C.L. in Integrative Studies requirement for an interdisciplinary course (IDPL).