Art awakening humanity was an afternoon of short talks and meditations organised by St Stephen Walbrook in partnership with Awakened Artists and Watkins Mind Body Spirit Magazine. The event included contributions from artists, collectors & spiritual teachers centered around the relationship between art and the spiritual dimension. Inspired by a recent interview with Eckhart Tolle in Mind Body Spirit Magazine, the afternoon offered a wide range of perspectives on our theme of art awakening humanity. Participants described the event as: "Wonderful, inspirational" and "Spiritually uplifting conference."
I began the afternoon with a brief outline overview of Modern Art & Spirituality. We then heard from Roseline de Thélin speaking on the theme of Art: language of the soul, with a key focus on art and wonder. De Thélin is an interdisciplinary visual artist as well as a creative coach and art therapist. The subject of Light has been central in her artistic and philosophical inquiry. Combining a diversity of digital and hands on media she produces pieces that play with illusion and perceptions. She is known for the unique work she developed with fiber optic, symbol of the endless possibilities carried by photons. Roseline facilitates Art Retreats that foster creative investigation, discovery, innovation and self-awareness.
Art historian Edward Lucie-Smith gave his Agnostic’s view of art and spirituality. Edward Lucie-Smith is an internationally known art critic and historian, who is also a published poet and a practicing photographer. He has published nearly two hundred books in all. He is generally regarded as the most prolific and the most widely published writer on contemporary art. A number of his art books are used as standard texts throughout the world. He has organised exhibitions in a number of galleries worldwide. He has also served on juries of the Cairo, Alexandria and Sharjah Biennials.
David Neita and Theresa Roberts discussed aspects of the Jamaican Spiritual which Theresa curated for St Stephen Walbrook in July. Theresa Roberts is an art collector specializing and promoting Jamaican Art and artists. She has held Jamaican Art exhibitions at various important venues in the UK including The House of Lords, Europe House, Cambridge University and this year St Stephen Walbrook. During the London Olympics Theresa held a combined Art and Fashion show at Jamaica House as part of the Independence Day celebrations. She showcases her collection of Jamaican art at her home of Hanover Grange in Montego Bay in Jamaica.
Jonathan Kearney showed examples of a wide range of digital art in discussing Art, Theology and The Digital. Kearney has extensive experience of exhibiting his work worldwide, with recent exhibitions having been seen in China, Brazil and London. For nine years, Kearney has pioneered the opportunity to study a Fine Art masters course online. This innovative approach to learning is backed by his research and experimentation, which shows how digital tools can enhance both learning and art practice. Jonathan is fascinated by the intersection of art, theology and the digital.
Mark Dean told his personal story of partial salvation through art before discussing The Esoteric In Art. Dean says, “As an artist I do not seek to make images of God but rather the representation of personhood; that is, the experience of being a person in a world where there is a God. This world is not easy, and there are experiences of trauma and isolation; but God (and thus the created world) is good, and so there is beauty and the hope of redemption.”
Jonathan Koestlé-Cate specifically probed the conference title for understanding in his presentation, utilising works by Bruce Nauman, Alice Neel, Jonathan Monk and Alejandro Tobon Rojas, in doing so. Koestlé-Cate says, “I have followed closely the church’s increasing willingness to work with contemporary artists and to deploy modern media within its spaces. I have since become a regular contributor to debates on the relationship of Christianity and the visual arts, taking a particular interest in the role of modern and contemporary art in ecclesiastical spaces, but also the wider presence of themes of religion, spirituality and the sacred within the art world more generally”.
Alexander de Cadenet shared an extract of his interview with Eckhart Tolle and spoke about the Awakened Artists Group before ending with a singing bowl meditation. De Cadenet says, "For me, art is way of exploring what gives life a deeper meaning and evolves in relation to my own life journey. Being an artist is about having a voice in the world, a pure and authentic voice in a challenging world. It is a way of sharing personal insights and encounters with the world, of exploring the mysteries of our existence and our place in the grand scheme. Art is the intersection between the formless dimension and the world of form, it embodies our connection to nature or the
intelligence that is responsible for our existences."
Exploring art and spirituality broadly is one of many ways in which St Stephen Walbrook, and the Church more widely, seek to support and strengthen the real relationship that exists between art and the spiritual.
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Art historian Edward Lucie-Smith gave his Agnostic’s view of art and spirituality. Edward Lucie-Smith is an internationally known art critic and historian, who is also a published poet and a practicing photographer. He has published nearly two hundred books in all. He is generally regarded as the most prolific and the most widely published writer on contemporary art. A number of his art books are used as standard texts throughout the world. He has organised exhibitions in a number of galleries worldwide. He has also served on juries of the Cairo, Alexandria and Sharjah Biennials.
David Neita and Theresa Roberts discussed aspects of the Jamaican Spiritual which Theresa curated for St Stephen Walbrook in July. Theresa Roberts is an art collector specializing and promoting Jamaican Art and artists. She has held Jamaican Art exhibitions at various important venues in the UK including The House of Lords, Europe House, Cambridge University and this year St Stephen Walbrook. During the London Olympics Theresa held a combined Art and Fashion show at Jamaica House as part of the Independence Day celebrations. She showcases her collection of Jamaican art at her home of Hanover Grange in Montego Bay in Jamaica.
Jonathan Kearney showed examples of a wide range of digital art in discussing Art, Theology and The Digital. Kearney has extensive experience of exhibiting his work worldwide, with recent exhibitions having been seen in China, Brazil and London. For nine years, Kearney has pioneered the opportunity to study a Fine Art masters course online. This innovative approach to learning is backed by his research and experimentation, which shows how digital tools can enhance both learning and art practice. Jonathan is fascinated by the intersection of art, theology and the digital.
Mark Dean told his personal story of partial salvation through art before discussing The Esoteric In Art. Dean says, “As an artist I do not seek to make images of God but rather the representation of personhood; that is, the experience of being a person in a world where there is a God. This world is not easy, and there are experiences of trauma and isolation; but God (and thus the created world) is good, and so there is beauty and the hope of redemption.”
Jonathan Koestlé-Cate specifically probed the conference title for understanding in his presentation, utilising works by Bruce Nauman, Alice Neel, Jonathan Monk and Alejandro Tobon Rojas, in doing so. Koestlé-Cate says, “I have followed closely the church’s increasing willingness to work with contemporary artists and to deploy modern media within its spaces. I have since become a regular contributor to debates on the relationship of Christianity and the visual arts, taking a particular interest in the role of modern and contemporary art in ecclesiastical spaces, but also the wider presence of themes of religion, spirituality and the sacred within the art world more generally”.
Alexander de Cadenet shared an extract of his interview with Eckhart Tolle and spoke about the Awakened Artists Group before ending with a singing bowl meditation. De Cadenet says, "For me, art is way of exploring what gives life a deeper meaning and evolves in relation to my own life journey. Being an artist is about having a voice in the world, a pure and authentic voice in a challenging world. It is a way of sharing personal insights and encounters with the world, of exploring the mysteries of our existence and our place in the grand scheme. Art is the intersection between the formless dimension and the world of form, it embodies our connection to nature or the
intelligence that is responsible for our existences."
Exploring art and spirituality broadly is one of many ways in which St Stephen Walbrook, and the Church more widely, seek to support and strengthen the real relationship that exists between art and the spiritual.
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Glenn Hansard - Time Will Be The Healer.
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