Never Again: Artistic Peace Projects

My latest article is for Epiphany, the magazine of Epiphanyart, an ecumenical society of Christian artists in Britain formed over 70 years ago and affiliated to the international movement Société Internationale des Artistes Chrétiens (SIAC) which supports national Christian arts events in many countries.

Epiphanyart aims: 1.To bring the work of Christian artists to the notice of churches and the public; 2. To provide opportunities for mutual support and encouragement to its members; 3. To provide a resource for exhibition organisers and others to contact and commission artists via its website; and 4. To serve as a focus for all forms of creativity.

This edition of Epiphany features: Kreg Yingst, an American print maker; Helen Armstrong on commissions at St George's Hove; poetry by Janet Wilkes; and Peter Osbourne on Lincoln Cathedral. 

Among the many artists forced to flee Nazi Germany were the sculptor Ernst Müller-Blensdorf and Ervin Bossányi. In my article, I give an account of two war-time artists who made their way to Britain and ended up making an important contribution to the cultural life of the country through their art:

"The focus on peace promotion that we find in the work of Blensdorf and Bossányi was characteristic of other émigré artists in this period, a concern shared more widely still within society at the time. ‘Never again’ was a common expression after 1945, symbolizing a universal desire to avoid another world war, a desire that was clearly expressed in 1945 through the establishment of the United Nations. The stories and works of these two demonstrate that artists can make a significant contribution to the cause of peace. In these days of increased conflict within Europe, we would do well to revive our awareness of such artists and find inspiration in their search for peace."

For more on Blensdorf click here and on Bossányi here.

Join Epiphanyart to receive the Epiphany magazine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henryk Gorecki - Symphony No.3.

Out and About

One Equall Light was an exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” was held from 30th June - 20th July, 2014 at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly. Christian Arts collaborated with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference was held during the beginning of the exhibition period. The exhibition coincided with the City of London Festival. The exhibition included selected work from Christian Arts members and work from invited artists, Susie Hamilton at St. James and Margot Perryman at St. Giles. Link to the exhibition catalogue here - Catalogue. I attended Sam Wells' talk on 'Art and the Renewal of St Martins' at St Giles Cripplegate (which was part of the ACE conference) with Jean Lamb and Wendy McTernan and then visited the St James Piccadilly half of the exhibition with Wendy again and Hayley Bowen.

Art and Life at Dulwich Picture Gallery: Ben and Winifred Nicholson were at the forefront of the Modern British movement and produced some of the most memorable works of the period. Discover ten years of artistic exploration by the couple in this exhibition curated by their grandson, Jovan Nicholson. It provides a rare opportunity to see their views of the same landscapes, seascapes, still lifes and portraits alongside pieces by contemporaries Christopher Wood, Alfred Wallis and the potter William Staite Murray. I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent show when I visited on Friday.

Can't Tell Nathan Caton Nothing is a Radio 4 comedy that mixes stand-up with re-enacted scenes from comedian Nathan Caton's family life. Regarded as one of the best young comics in the UK, Nathan's award-winning combination of personal and topical anecdotes has lead to appearances on BBC2's Mock The Week, BBC3's Russell Howard's Good News, BBC Radio 4's Now Show, News Quiz. I watched part of the recording of the third series with Paul Trathen.

The sheer variety of work presented each year is what makes the RA's Summer Exhibition an annual highlight of the cultural calendar. I went with Christopher Clack who has 'Teenage Boy', one of his portrait photographs, included in the show. Alongside Chris' marvellous image, in a room which also includes work by James Turrell, is a wonderful video by Everton Wright which was, for me, one of the best things in the show. I also particularly enjoyed work by John Bellany, Peter Freeth, Kaori Homma, Anselm Keifer and Wolfgang Tillmans.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gene Clark - Ship Of The Lord.

Exhibitions and events update

An exhibition themed on the “Sermons and Holy Sonnets of John Donne” is being held at St Giles, Cripplegate and St James, Piccadilly in Central London until 20th July 2014. Christian Arts has worked with Art and Christianity Enquiry on the exhibition organisation and the ACE International Conference will be held during the exhibition period.

The Sacred City - Public lectures from the ACE/ASK conference: The Revd Dr Sam Wells, Vicar of St Martin-in-the-Fields, Turning All into Alleluia: Arts and the Renewal of St Martin-in-the-Fields on Tuesday 8 July, 6.30pm at St Giles Cripplegate, Fore Street, London EC2Y 8DA. Professor Alison Milbank, Associate Professor of Literature and Theology at the University of Nottingham, Visualising London through the Eyes of Dante on Wednesday 9 July, 6.30pm at St James's Church, 197 Piccadilly, London W1J 9LL. Tickets on the door: £5, concessions and ACE members £4 (free to ACE conference delegates). The lectures are kindly suported by the Community of St Andrew and the Gibbs Family Charitable Trust. Also, as part of the conference, two artworks by Anna Sikorska and Benedict Romain will be exhibited at St Giles-in-the-Fields, 7–11 July.

CANA Christian Arts Seminar at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, August 12 - 13, 8.00 am - 5.00 pm. Two days of teaching, sharing and worship, exploring ways to use creative gifts to serve God. CANA stands for Christian Artists Networking Association. Their vision is to see artists and creative people redeemed and rooted in the love of God, so that their creativity reflects Truth in beautiful ways. CANA has helped organize Christian arts conferences in Bali, Thailand, and different parts of Europe. They are making plans for a similar conference to be held in Cambodia in the summer of 2015.

As a precursor to that, they are inviting people to attend a two-day seminar on August 12-13, 2014, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., at New Jerusalem Church, Phnom Penh, to learn more about their vision and to explore how they might be involved in the 2015 conference. At the 2014 seminar, they are partnering with CCAM, Cambodian Christian Arts Ministry, to present some teaching and examples about how to integrate faith with creativity. This teaching will focus on who we are in Christ, and how we may effectively bear fruit for Him through the arts. It will draw upon Biblical foundations and perspectives, exploring insights revealed by Jesus Himself in His creation and in His Word, especially gleaned from the Gospel of John.

If you are an artist searching for your God-ordained niche in the Kingdom of God, or a creative person wondering how your gifts can make a difference for Christ in the world, or a missionary or church leader desiring new ideas for creative ministry, then this seminar is for you! For additional information, or to pre-register, contact Steve Scott at info.cana.arts@gmail.com . There is no registration fee, but donations to help cover expenses are welcome. Participants are requested to bring their own picnic lunch.

Adam Boulter, who is priest at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Aqaba, Jordan, will be holding an exhibition of paintings and pastels from Jordan entitled: out of the wilderness at Piers Feetham Gallery (475 Fulham Road, London SW6 1HL) from 15th-20th September 2014. Private Views: 6.30 - 8.30 pm, Tuesday 16th  & Thursday 18th September. Gallery opening times: Monday 3 pm - 6 pm, Tuesday - Friday 10 am - 6 pm, Saturday 10 am - Midday.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Steve Scott - The Resurrection Of The Body.

A rough guide to Christian Art

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.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Brothers and Sisters Gospel Choir - All Along The Watchtower.

Art that depicts biblical scenes and art that looks at the world with new eyes

The ArtWay December 2013 newsletter highlights the dilemma or both/and that currently bedevils all Christian Arts organisations. Research into young Dutch Christian artists showed that although "the notion of ‘Christian art’ is often associated with art that depicts biblical scenes, the artists ... investigated turned out to focus mainly on other themes, while the link with their faith [was] present in a more indirect manner':

'As to style, media and approach their works displayed a rich variety. Only some of them, to a very limited extent, worked for the church, or, indeed, for a specifically Christian audience. Their concern is to be present in the middle of society.  They desire to show beauty, inspire, prompt reflection and make people look at the world with new eyes. For these artists art is not a form of evangelism. They welcome the multi-layered character of art and leave room for different interpretations.'
   

ArtWay seeks to encourage churches opening up to art and artists opening up to the church: 'For the more conservative Reformed world in The Netherlands art in the church is a new development, while the mainline Protestant and the Catholic churches are happy to receive a new stimulus in this area.' Yet for this engagement to occur, artists are needed who are willing to work for the church and specifically Christian audiences and to create, at least at times, art that depicts biblical scenes.

 

Most Christian Art organisations end up focussing their attention on one side or the other of this dilemma but, for all of us, both should have real significance and value.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Energy Orchard - King Of Love.

Passiontide, Holy Week and Eastertide

Our Good Friday Devotional Service will feature use of The Passion: Reflections & Prayers. These are pictures, poems and prayers by Henry Shelton and I which enable us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey.

Christian Art – fallacy or fusion? Eastertide course exploring approaches to and understanding of the relationship between faith and art. Tuesday evenings at St John's Seven Kings on 9th, 23^rd & 30^th April, 7^th & 14^th May at 7.30pm. Cost – £15. To book contact Liz Watson on 01245 294449 or lwatson@chelmsford.anglican.org.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Buddy Miller - All My Tears.

Christian Art – fallacy or fusion?

The Lent & Eastertide Schools are a collection of education, training and skills events across the Diocese of Chelmsford during Lent and Eastertide each year. A series of short courses running across the diocese between Ash Wednesday and Pentecost with a wide variety of themes and costing £15 per course.

This year, as part of the Eastertide School, I will be running 'Christian Art – fallacy or fusion?' which aims to explore approaches to and understanding of the relationship between art and faith. In this course participants will explore approaches to engaging with and looking attentively at art in addition to exploring the history of art and faith plus definitions of Christian Art. As we do so, we will also look at contemporary art exhibitions, public art and church commissions.

The course will take place on five Tuesday evenings beginning 9th April, then from 23rd April - 14th May at St John's Seven Kings (St Johns Road, Seven Kings, Ilford, Essex IG2 7BB). For brochures and booking forms please contact: Liz Watson. Diocesan Office, 53 New Street, Chelmsford, Essex. CM1 1AT. Tel: 01245 294449, email: lwatson@chelmsford.anglican.org.

I have been thinking about books to suggest to participants for further reading as, while many books have been written on the arts and faith, a relative paucity exists of books giving reasonably accurate, comprehensive and unbiased summaries or surveys of the modern period. The resources I am likely to commend include:

Rosemary Crumlin's Beyond Belief: Modern Art and the Religious Imagination, the catalogue from a 1998 exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. While not being "a survey of religious and spiritual images of the century," the works included and the accompanying essays do nevertheless span the twentieth century. The earliest, Maurice Denis' The Catholic Mystery and James Ensor's Christ calming the storm "hover at the edges of a century of revolutions, wars and new beginnings" while "at the other end of the century, and of the exhibition, are Francesco Clemente's meditations on his journey up Mount Abu in India and Audrey Flack's huge head of the goddess Daphne, with fruit and branches for hair and, on her forehead, a skull, a reminder and warning of the destruction of war."

The foreword by Timothy Potts contains a particularly focussed summary of religious and spiritual influences on twentieth century art: "The pervasiveness of broadly religious and spiritual themes in twentieth-century Western art may at first seem to stand in contradiction to the secularization of so many aspects of life and culture during our times. The religious underpinnings of so much Western art before this century - from its subject matter to its sources of patronage and its devotional purposes - are obvious and uncontentious. With the art of our own century, however, the religious dimension is altogether more subtle, often more abstract and inevitably more personal. From images created with a clear message and usage in mind, we move into a world of individual spiritual discovery, personal visual languages and images which seek to explore and evoke rather than to define and prescribe. Some artists employ familiar religious iconography as convenient signifiers of an earlier culture and mind set - artefacts to be used in a quintessentially modern image-making of juxtaposition, anomaly and incongruity. Others eschew icons altogether to explore more mystical spiritual concerns in images of diffuse abstraction. The visual languages, the spiritual purposes and the artistic results are infinitely varied, but all are united by an absorption in the confrontation between art and religious experience. In this exhibition, these pervasive currents of religious experience and thinking can be traced running through the work of many of the twentieth-century's most important artists and schools."

Art, Modernity and Faith: Restoring the Image by George Pattison provides a survey of modern theological approaches to understanding the relationship between Christianity and the visual arts (Forsyth, Maritain, Gilson, Ruskin, Tillich, Wolterstorff etc.) together with a critique of these approaches leading to his own proposals for a theology of Art. While not fully comprehensive, as there is, for example, no discussion of the significant work of Hans Urs von Balthasar or Calvin Seerveld, Pattison is nevertheless asking many of the right questions - "What sort of theology of art, then, will work best for our time? What will enable theologians to bring to their engagement with the visual arts the great (yet ceaselessly debated) resources of the Christian tradition - but in such a way that the artist is recognised and affirmed in his or her autonomy of working?" He emphasises that the "dialogue between art and religion is to be just that: a dialogue, with each partner seeking to appreciate the specific contribution of the other."   

Rowena Loverance’s Christian Art is both an accessible introduction to Christian Art and a stimulating exploration of the way in which art from the Christian tradition can speak to our condition today. To achieve both within the pages of one book is a considerable achievement. Loverance’s scope is broad, covering Christian Art from its inception to the contemporary in a way that is genuinely global and which takes in the decorative as well as the fine arts. She begins with a brief chronological survey in which she notes the way in which different aspects of Christian Art emerge from the different periods and cultures of Church history. The majority of the book, however, explores Christian Art thematically, noting the way in which the visual arts have engaged with the themes and imagery of Christian scripture and tradition. While necessarily concise through covering a lot of ground, Loverance writes with the sensitivity to art that one should expect of an art historian and with a similar appreciation of theology that comes from one writing, as a Quaker, out of her own faith tradition. Loverance has written an engaging, accessible survey of the diversity of Christian Art in which she clearly identifies the relevance of such art to our contemporary condition and identifies fruitful new avenues in the Christian tradition for possible exploration by contemporary artists. Well illustrated and designed, this is a book to inspire both the creation of new Christian art and appreciation of the wonderful heritage that we already possess.

Finally, I am also likely to commend the series of lectures given by The Rt Revd Lord Harries at the Museum of London on Christian Faith and Modern Art. The last century saw changes in artistic style that were both rapid and radical. This presented a particular problem to artists who wished to express Christian themes and these illustrated lectures looked at how different artists responded to this challenge whilst retaining their artistic integrity. The lectures in the series are: The Explosion of Modernism; Distinctive Individual Visions; Catholic Elegance and Joy; Post World War II Optimism; Searching for new ways; and Contemporary Christian Art.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

James MacMillan - Credo.

New book: Eyes on Jesus

The Dutch book Jezus voor ogen (Eyes on Jesus) has recently been published, with visual meditations and word and image Bible studies for Lent. The visual meditations have all featured previously on the ArtWay website and include the meditation which I wrote on Christopher Clack's Descent II. 

Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker, who edited the book, writes:

"For us this book is a milestone that marks what ArtWay has been given to accomplish in the past two years. The book will hopefully function as a springboard to a new and broader audience, so that the website and its resources will be used by even more people and churches. We hope that an English version will be published next year.

In Jezus voor ogen the focus is on Jesus. While working on the book it struck me that images of Jesus can start to function as ‘models’ to us. In the book I expressed this as follows:

‘Jesus hangs on the cross as the image of the ideal human being. This is how humans are meant to be: full of love, obedient to the Father, willing to serve and suffer, resisting temptations, putting others above oneself. If we are honest, this is not really our idea of an ultimate hero. For this very reason it is of such great importance to keep on feeding ourselves with this and other images of Jesus. For deep inside of us live all kinds of other ideal images that drive us and that we bow to time and again, because they are our idols. Our ideal picture of our successful self: the slim figure, the imposing house, the fat car, the ideal partner, the golden job, the huge happiness. Christian art can replace these with new ideal images that can help us to become people of unified character: people whose inside corresponds with their outside, whose deeds rhyme with their words – people for whom Jesus on the cross is a source of inspiration for who they want to become and be.’"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Julie Miller - Jesus In Your Eyes

Valuing local and regional arts

The focus of commission4mission (c4m) is primarily on encouraging local churches to commission contemporary art. While the extent to which cathedrals and city centre churches commission contemporary art is not as well known or documented as should be the case, a fairly consistent level of commissions have been undertaken at that level since the pioneering work of George Bell and Walter Hussey. Such commissions rightly focus on artists with national and international reputations.

Much of what receives publicity in the field is, understandably but not exclusively, what it is feasible for cathedrals and city centre churches to commission and exhibit. One effect of this focus can then be that local churches look at commissions/exhibitions featuring national and international artists and the sums of money involved and think both that that kind of engagement with the arts is entirely out of their league and that their engagement, where it exists, with local/regional artists and/or community arts initiatives is viewed as lacking in quality and of little significance.

The unintended effect, therefore, is to give the impression to local churches that commissioning contemporary art requires considerable budgets and access to the art establishment. Neither are true, but by focussing primarily on such major commissions what church art coverage there is can easily give local churches the impression that the visual arts are not for the likes of us. What is needed, therefore, is a both/and; a public focus on a varied range of interesting commission/exhibitions/installations/projects involving local churches set alongside the national and internationally significant work undertaken through some cathedrals and city centre churches.

c4m seeks to address this situation, firstly by providing a support network and brokerage for artists with regional and local reputations who wish to be commissioned by churches and secondly by countering objections which are likely to made in relation to contemporary commissions within local churches i.e. that such commissions will be unaffordable (which we counter both by realistic charges and by suggesting funding comes through donations made in memory of loved ones) and that the money would be better spent on other pressing needs (which we counter by including a charitable element in the overall cost of each commission). Our experience has been that these approaches open up opportunities for commissions in ways that would not otherwise have been the case.

We recognise that there are legitimate questions that can be asked of our approach and that not all artists would wish to be join our group as a result. We understand and accept that but also ask for a reciprocal acknowledgement that the work of artists with regional or local reputations has value, that community arts initiatives have value, and that opening up new opportunities for original commissions also has real value.

A similar issue arises in relation to use of the term 'Christian Art'. We use this term because we are principally a group of artists who have a Christian faith and who are actively seeking Church commissions. c4m primarily exists to promote and obtain contemporary art commissions in churches and with this limited remit, it seems to us to be accurate to label what we do through c4m as being 'Christian Art' i.e. art produced by Christians for a Christian context. Applying that term to what we do is in no sense intended to be determinative or restrictive for any other artists or groups working within the mainstream arts.

Again, we recognise the debate that exists over the use and validity of the term. God is in the wider conversation going on in the art world, the Church needs to participate in that conversation, and work of all kinds of artists are needed within our churches. That is principally what goes on through the commissions and exhibitions organised by cathedrals and city centre churches ably supported by Art and Christianity Enquiry (ACE) and the academy. However, if that is the only engagement that the Church has with the visual arts, it will continue to exclude as much as it includes. It will exclude by overlooking the value of local and regional artists/arts initiatives and by overlooking work which is not at the cutting edge of contemporary art or which utilises more traditional Christian iconography.

Art's power to challenge, subvert and disturb is not going to be affected in any measureable way by either the engagement or lack of engagement of the Church in a predominantly secular culture and where our resources for patronage are greatly reduced from that of Christendom. The question is, therefore, not whether our actions will reduce art's power to challenge, subvert or disturb but firstly of the extent to which we open ourselves to that power and secondly of the extent to which we nurture artists that, like Georges Rouault, can genuinely tap art's power to challenge, subvert or disturb secular culture (including that of the art establishment) from a Christian perspective.

My view is again that we need a both/and. To ally art too closely with a Christian variety or with mission will limit us in our engagement with the world but to only engage with the world and thereby fail to nurture artists within the Christian community is also a real and present danger. My sense is that most published writing on the arts from, in some fashion, within the Church is skewed towards the former and away from the latter. Within the visual arts, we need to find the balance which seems to exist more equably within music. Classical music continues to utilise liturgical forms in mainstream music making and also to value the specialist field of Church music, while popular music draws heavily on its roots in both Black Gospel and Country Gospel, acknowledging both in relation to its history and to the current forms taken by these genres. There are no equivalents found within contemporary visual art, despite the enormous Christian heritage that exists within the history of art.

My perception of the number of organisations, projects and initiatives which encourage a dialogue between the arts and the church is that while small, they have grown in number and range within more recent years. Insufficient co-ordination or dialogue exists between these groups. The Forum for Art and Religion seems to be have been an attempt to bring some such co-ordination or dialogue while ACE has more recently sought to establish a regional network that engages many of the groups which do exist. c4m has written to all the groups of which we are aware and is in discussion at different levels with several such groups. As a first step, we have been involved in initiating Run With The Fire, an Olympic-themed art project with CANA and Veritasse. We see a clear need for a national network or conference.

I think there are potentially at least three levels at which such networking could be useful as an ongoing activity. First, information exchange - simply keeping each other up-to-date with what we are each doing. Second, specific shared projects, some of which might involve the whole network and others a smaller selection of those in the network. Third, shared support services. This third level is probably a longer term possibility to be considered once relationships have grown within the network but could involve a shared support person or team undertaking administrative, developmental, fundraising and/or publicity activities on behalf of all those in the network.

Our experience suggests that there is considerable interest in engaging with the visual arts in churches but that the national/academic dialogue which does occur often seems a world away from local churches. Our experience also suggests that there are significant numbers of artists wishing to engage with local churches but, again, that existing structures or approaches have not reached such artists. It is for these reasons that we feel that groups such as c4m have a valid and significant place and role within the wider range of organisations, projects and initiatives which encourage a dialogue between the arts and the church.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Jam - Art School.

Resurrection: Christian Arts exhibition

Ceramics by Jane Quail

Works by Anna Payne

'Death thou shalt die' by Brian Ayling

Photographs of the Sagrada Familia, Barcelona by Brian Ayling

View of the exhibition

'Resurrection' by Linda Scott

View of the exhibition

Works by Michael Day and Phyllis Hall

Works by Phyllis Hall and Maggie Ayling

Works by Carol Ann Pennington, Helen Armstrong and Brian Ayling

Christian Arts are holding an exhibition at St. Mary's Church, Bury St. Edmunds until 22nd April. The exhibition theme of Resurrection, was chosen by members at St. Mary's to follow on from the Easter weekend and further supporting events are planned at the Church during the exhibition. 24 Christian Arts members have work in the exhibition.

St.Mary's claims to be the third largest parish church in England. It is part of the Benedictine Abbey site in the Historic Centre of Bury St. Edmunds. There are many visitors to the Church, which houses the tomb of Mary Tudor, Queen of France, Duchess of Suffolk and favourite sister of Henry VIII along with over a hundred more tombs and monuments, carved angels in the roof and a wealth of 15C woodcarving and outstanding examples of stained glass.

Christian Arts is an ecumenical society of Christian artists in Britain formed over forty years ago, and affiliated to the Société Internationale des Artistes Chrétiens (SIAC) which supports Christian arts events in many countries. They are a sister society to the Society of Catholic Artists (SCA). Christian Arts' diverse membership is drawn from painters, sculptors, ceramicists, book and textile artists and craftspeople from all over the country and is for all involved in the arts who are committed Christians and wish to explore and deepen the relationship between their faith and the arts.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

River City People - Say Something Good.