Steve Scott dialogues 2: Networking

JE:

I've very much enjoyed reading 'Crying for a Vision' and particularly liked the breadth of your frame of reference - essentially, what Rupert Loydell notes as you linking "a number of fields of inquiry that are usually perceived as unrelated." This, it seems to me, is linked to your interest in collage and I appreciated the way in which this interest was explored and expressed through the chapters describing your collaboration with Gaylen Stewart and ways of giving 'voice' to the multicultural reality of the 21st century church in the arts.

This is a real encouragement to me as it has also become foundational to my understanding of both the arts and the bible but without finding many others who share those connections and interests. The way I came to what I think of as a reconciliatory approach to art and faith was via 'The Waste Land', the work of David Jones and the paintings of Chagall (http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2010/01/airbrushed-from-art-history-15.html).

My sense was that in each fragments of materials were being linked and combined in ways that made emotional and artistic (although not necessarily logical) wholes or harmonies but which also multiplied references and resonances between the fragments that were being reconciled. I was helped enormously in understanding the work of these artists in this way by the writings of Nicholas Mosley who, although not referring to Eliot, Jones or Chagall, was explicit about his attempts to write in an elusive and allusive style in order to make similar connections and who linked his attempts to do so to his understanding of Christianity (http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/search/label/mosley).

This thinking about the arts was then combined (via my ministerial training) with exploration of post-modernism and reading of the likes of Walter Brueggemann, Gabriel Josipovici, Mark Oakley and Mike Riddell on the Bible to arrive at an understanding of the Bible as fragments collaged together into an endlessly resonating harmony. (See http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2008/02/allusive-elusive-1.html, http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2008/02/allusive-and-elusive-2,%20http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2008/02/allusive-and-elusive-3.html,%20http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2008/02/allusive-and-elusive-4.html,%20html,http://joninbetween.blogspot.com/2008/02/allusive-elusive-5.html)

Another area of interest was in your links with the likes of Nigel Goodwin, Andy Piercy, and Steve Fairnie. I hadn't realised the extent to which there had been links between these from a relatively young age which presumably supported the work that they went on to do as pioneers in the UK in expressing faith through the Arts. It wasn't until I did my ministerial training that I found a network of like-minded Christians with interests in the arts to which I could relate and it is interesting to get a glimpse of the fact that similar networks of support have been important for others too in support of their development. Rupert Loydell once included one of my poems in a Stride publication and critiqued an article that I wrote for 'Strait' on Ted Hughes but I didn't have sufficient confidence in myself or my work at that time to forge the kind of connections that you made. I now really value the networks that I do have and hope that commission4mission as it develops can provide that kind of incubation for new generations of artists.

SS:

Of deep roots and family trees ... Rupert Loydell is now senior lecturer in creative writing in the University of Falmouth. He connected with me in the late 1980s, as referred by Steve Turner. He is also related, I think, to Bev Sage, who at one point was Bev Fairnie. Bev I met in the late 60s/early 70s, she was part of a singing trio called Soul Truth (with Judy, who became Judy Piercey). We all met up in 1969ish at a Youth for Christ event in Torquay. Soul Truth, the Canon Harry Sutton (speaker) the young Nigel Goodwin (pre Arts Centre Group), Steve Fairnie, an undergraduate from Bristol (and Steve Rowsie), Andy Piercey who was to be part of Ishmael and Andy prior to After The Fire. Goodwin went on to begin the ACG in South Kensington attracting the likes of poet Stewart Henderson, poet/journalist Steve Turner, graphic designer/filmmaker Norman Stone (and so on, names too numerous to mention etc.). Fairnie did grad work at the Royal College of Art/married Bev.

All this is to say that networking, facilitation, encouragement and support to artists, thinkers, emerging etc. is very important and often times you don't see `fruit' outside of just the support-at-the-time, for years. But looking back over the years (decades!) there's all kinds of primary and secondary impact not just on the church but also on the culture at large. All this is to say that the gift of networking is an underrated charism.

JE:

It was a remarkably fruitful period from which I certainly benefitted. Reading 'Buzz' and then 'Strait' was what introduced me to the work of many of those that you mention. I read Steve Turner, Stewart Henderson and Rupert Loydell and had poetry and reviews published in 'Strait' while Stewart Henderson was its Editor. Rupert Loydell included one of my poems in a Stride compilation (although he wanted to excise the word 'God' from the poem) and he critiqued an article that I wrote for 'Strait' on Ted Hughes in which I concluded that elements of Hughes' writings were dangerous (which raised Rupert's hackles). I've been a ACG member for some years without ever having gotten deeply involved. I listened to ATF and The Technos and was at the Dominion for ATF's final gig. Their originality, it seems to me, was in writing contemporary worship songs using contemporary imagery (lazers, jet planes etc.), something that those, like Delerious?, who have followed in their wake have generally been unable to achieve (Delerious' imagery being drawn generally from the pool of scriptural imagery). All of this fed my imagination, kick started my fascination for the differing ways artists express their faith in and through their work, and demonstrated that it was possible to be Christian and creative.

SS:

Yep. And prior to `Buzz' was Vista. I recall Buzz as almost a broadsheet, or at least somewhat diminutive in its first issues. My only or main recall of Strait was when Garth Hewitt was in the loop. And there was an ACG magazine THE CUT that became or later resurfaced as ARTYFACT.

Speaking of the early 70s, I can recall the first issues of TIME OUT. I mention this because I linked on Facebook to a TIMEOUT HK edition interview with artist Makoto Fujimura who, if youre not thoroughly acquainted with him already, then i suggest becoming so.

Yes to ATF's use of contemporary imagery. Also to Fairnie and co's use of media. I also recall around thebeginning of the 2000s (2001 or 2) someone giving me a link to something called `smallfire' alt: worship in UK. It was from there I got into a brief Edialog with Jonny Baker.

Whilst an art student I went to the Cambridge Poetry Festival (73) and saw Ted Hughes reading live. Also Lee Harwood, Eric Mottram. John Ashbery from NY read terribly, but I later got into his stuff `on the page' Got to chat with Nathaniel Tarn who turned me on to a magazine called Alcheringa, a journal of Ethnopoetics co edited by Jerome Rothenberg and Goerge Quasha. Rothenberg is a poet and a justly famous anthologist of world ethnopoetry/poetics 'Technicians of the Sacred'. To my everlasting regret I did not buy the just published first edition of John Heath Stubbs `Artorius' even though he was there, reading and perhaps signing, although his vision was possibly shot by then. 'Artorius' (from what I've read of it) does Arthur/Britain a bit like David Jones and Wales (or pre Roman Britain).

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