Years ago I
discussed at some length with a publisher the possibility of an A-Z directory
of the Christian contribution to twentieth century Arts; in essence a Rough
Guide to modern ‘Christian’ Art.
This was a
hugely optimistic suggestion for two reasons. Firstly, there is no consensus as
to what constitutes ‘Christian’ Art in the modern and contemporary periods and
no consensus on whether there is any value or possibility of defining
‘Christian’ Art. Secondly, the Christian contribution to the Arts of this
period is broad and significant but is far from having been comprehensively
documented. Dealing with both issues in a directory would have been a
challenging undertaking.
The A-Z never
happened but this blog has become a place to post some of the material that
could have been included in it - particularly with my ‘Airbrushed from art history’ series but also in a number of posts on literature and music. More
recently, my co-authored book The Secret Chord has explored aspects of the
interplay between faith and music (and the Arts, more broadly).
To explore
this contribution is important because the story of modern and contemporary
Arts is often told primarily as a secular story. To redress this imbalance has
significance in: encouraging support for those who explore aspects of
Christianity in and through the Arts; providing role models for emerging
artists who are Christians; and enabling appreciation of the nourishment and
haunting which can be had by acknowledging the contribution which Christianity
has made to the Arts.
Periodically I have opportunities to speak about this issues and ideas as with my talk about
the work of commission4mission given last Saturday to the Friends of Chelmsford Cathedral. In my talk I used commission4mission’s name and aim
to explore understandings of art in mission, perspectives on commissioning and
debates about definitions of Christian Art. Within
this framework I shared the following summary of the Christian contribution to
modern and contemporary visual art (which is explored in expanded form in
‘Airbrushed from art history’):
Roman Catholic
artists played prominent roles in Post-Impressionism, the Nabis, Fauvism and
Cubism. Jacques Maritain’s Art and Scholasticism and the Thomistic Study Circles which met at his home influenced many
artists. Expressionist artists frequently painted Biblical narratives
while Futurism developed a strong strand of sacred art. Abstraction was viewed
by many as the best means available to artists for depicting an unseen realm.
Suprematism and Abstract Expressionism were both influenced by the underlying
principle of icons. Dominican Friars and Anglican clergy alike called for the
great artists and architects of their day to design and decorate their
churches. A revival of traditional icon painting occurred with centres in
Greece, Russia, Europe and Scandinavia. Visionary artists abounded within Folk Art while many mainstream visionary artists also used Christian themes and
imagery. In response to the growth of Christian Art on the Asian continent, the
Asian Christian Art Association was founded in 1978 to encourage the visual
arts in Asian churches. Australia encouraged contemporary religious art through
the establishment of the Blake Prize in 1951. Polish Art in the 1980s was marked
by a profound interest in the whole question of the sacrum in art and many
exhibitions were held in Roman Catholic churches. There has also been extensive
use of Christian imagery by BritArt artists with such iconography and narrative
often used as a frame for the artists’ critiques of contemporary life including
politics and culture.
In March I
will be one of five speakers inputting to the Lent Course at Chelmsford Cathedral on Christianity and music. I am the only one of the five to be
speaking about popular music. By focusing specifically on Van Morrison’s
‘Summertime in England,’ I will explore our understandings of movement and
stasis in music (themes also explored in The Secret Chord) as well as touching
on the spirituality of folk music.
As background
and as an equivalent to the visual arts summary above, here is an outline
summary of the Christian contribution to rock and pop music:
Rock ‘n’ Roll merged blues (with its spiritual strand) and Country music (tapping its white gospel) while Soul music adapted much of its sound and content from Black Gospel. For both, their gestures and movements were adopted from Pentecostalism. Some, such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Sam Cooke, felt guilt at secularising Gospel while others, like Johnny Cash, arrived at a hard earned integration of faith and music. All experienced opposition from a Church angry at its songs and influence being appropriated for secular ends. This opposition fed a narrative that, on both sides, equated rock and pop with hedonism and rebellion. The born again Cliff Richard was often perceived (both positively and negatively) as the only alternative. Within this context the Biblical language and imagery of Bob Dylan and Van Morrison was largely overlooked, although Dylan spoke eloquently about the influence of scripture within the tradition of American music on which he drew.
With the majority of Soul stars having begun singing in Church, many of the most effective integrations of faith and music were found there with Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On and the Gospel-folk of the Staple Singers being among the best and most socially committed examples. Gospel featured directly with Billy Preston, Edwin Hawkins Singers and Aretha Franklin’s gospel albums. Mainstream use of Christian themes or imagery in rock were initially either unsustained (e.g. Blind Faith’s ‘Presence of the Lord’ and Norman Greenbaum’s ‘Spirit in the Sky’) or obscure (e.g. C.O.B.’s Moyshe McStiff and the Tartan Lancers of the Sacred Heart and Bill Fay’s Time of the Last Persecution).
However, this changed in three ways. First, the Church began to appropriate rock and pop to speak explicitly about Christian faith. This led to the emergence of a new genre, Contemporary Christian Music (CCM), with interaction between CCM and the mainstream. Mainstream artists such as Philip Bailey, David Grant, Al Green, Larry Norman and Candi Staton developed CCM careers while artists originally within CCM such as Delirious?, Martyn Joseph, Julie Miller, Leslie (Sam) Phillips, Sixpence None The Richer and Switchfoot achieved varying levels of mainstream exposure and success. Second, the biblical language and imagery of stars like Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Bruce Springsteen began to be understood and appreciated (helped to varying degrees by explicitly ‘Christian’ periods in the work of Dylan and Van the Man). Third, musicians such as After The Fire, The Alarm, T. Bone Burnett, The Call, Peter Case, Bruce Cockburn, Extreme, Galactic Cowboys, Innocence Mission, Kings X, Maria McKee, Buddy & Julie Miller, Moby, Over The Rhine, Ricky Ross, 16 Horsepower, U2, The Violent Femmes, Gillian Welch, Jim White, and Victoria Williams rather than singing about the light (of Christ) instead sang about the world which they saw through the light (of Christ). As rock and pop fragmented into a myriad of genres, this approach to the expression of faith continues in the work of Eric Bibb, Blessid Union of Souls, Creed, Brandon Flowers, Good Charlotte, Ben Harper, Michael Kiwanuka, Ed Kowalczyk, Lifehouse, Live, Low, Neal Morse, Mumford and Sons, Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Scott Stapp, Social Distortion, and Woven Hand.
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The Brothers and Sisters Gospel Choir - All Along The Watchtower.
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