Sabbatical Art Pilgrimage: Latest ArtWay Report

My latest Church of the Month report for ArtWay focuses on Chichester Cathedral:

'... the mix of commissions at Chichester Cathedral—from the “riot of colour and symbol” in the Piper tapestry to the glow of Hans Feibusch’s tender Baptism, the harmonious whole that is the Icon of the Divine Light by Cecil Collins to the fractured energies of Ursula Benker-Schirmer’s tapestry for the Shrine of St. Richard—genuinely invigorate and beautify the cathedral while introducing variety and intrigue into the experience of visiting and worshipping here. Tourists are encouraged to do both during their visit by prayers on the hour and use of the leaflet “A Spiritual Tour of Chichester Cathedral,” which has been designed to help people pray as they walk around the space.'

This Church of the Month report follows on from others about Aylesford Priory, Canterbury Cathedral, Chapel of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, Hem, Chelmsford Cathedral, Coventry Cathedral, Église de Saint-Paul à Grange-Canal, Lumen, Metz Cathedral, Notre Dame du Léman, Notre-Dame de Toute Grâce, Plateau d’Assy,Romont, Sint Martinuskerk Latem, St Aidan of Lindisfarne, St Alban Romford, St. Andrew Bobola Polish RC Church, St Margaret's Ditchling and St Mary the Virgin, Downe, and St Paul Goodmayes, as well as earlier reports of visits to sites associated with Marian Bohusz-Szyszko, Marc Chagall, Jean Cocteau, Antoni Gaudi and Henri Matisse.

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Karl Jenkins - The Armed Man.

Windows on the world (343)

Margate, 2016

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Florence and the Machine - Cosmic Love.

Private View: ‘Transformation’

Artist Terrence Ffyffe presents a series of spectacular new ‘Cosmic’ paintings alongside a number of large dramatic religious works depicting the Passion of Christ, at St Stephen Walbrook (by Bank Station) EC4N 8BN, from 15th May - 9th June 2017. All are welcome to view these spectacular works at the Private View for the exhibition on 15th May from 6.30pm.

As with his highly successful first show of ‘Cosmic’ paintings ‘Painting the Light’ in 2016, this exhibition entitled ‘Transformation’ brings the worlds of Quantum physics, Mathematics and Mystical Spirituality together in a new series of stunningly beautiful oil paintings. From his daily practise of meditation, which he describes as ‘a space journey to the source’, the lights, colours and shapes he sees mirror the images of Galaxies and Nebulas from the Hubble Telescope and the hidden world of atoms, cells and amoebas as revealed through the Electron Microscope. Ffyffe says “The amazing bio morphic patterns seen at all levels in nature demonstrate the oneness of all creation”. Terrence has found a way to create the patterns as blueprints and then with his skills as a figurative painter develop them into sumptuous paintings revealing a new form of beauty and a new vision of reality.

The exhibition coincides with the Feast of Pentecost, celebrating the ‘Descent of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles’, an event that transformed them from cowering in fear to boldly proclaiming the “Good News”.

Ffyffe formerly a figurative painter in the classic tradition had a “transformation” experience himself and is now firmly established in his new direction of depicting the beauty of the hidden world of nature and the inner world of the mind”. The exhibition brings together the last works that Ffyffe was working on before this profound change. He says, ”The early paintings are about the Historical Jesus and the New Paintings are about the Holy Spirit”.

Terrance Ffyffe is a visionary artist and as the eminent art critic Edward Lucie-Smith wrote on seeing the New Works for the first time “Wow!”: "Every now and then even a hardened old lag in the art business - yes folks, I mean me - gets a nice surprise … Terry Ffyffe-asked me to come and look at a new series of paintings … and my reaction was 'Wow!' … These were whirling, dynamic abstract designs - a total break with anything major of his that I had encountered previously”.

Terrence Ffyffe says: “Art should inspire the viewer, ideally raise the consciousness and elevate the mind to think of higher things like the beauty and mystery of the natural world, to contemplate the deep questions as to purpose and meaning, like ‘What is the origin of this life? What is Reality? Questions that have no easy answer but require a personal journey of developing awareness.”

Terrence Ffyffe was born in Melbourne, Australia. He studied at Swineburne University under Jeffrey Makin and Roger Kemp. After living the bohemian life of a painter in Carlton, extensive travels in the Australian Outback and several solo shows he came to England to study the “Old Masters” of European Painting at first hand. Unknown in the UK he painted portraits to support himself while he developed his uniquely expressive style. He eventually came to the attention of the art critics Edward Lucie-Smith and the late Daniel Farson who introduced him to the world of Francis Bacon and the “London school”. He has won a number of National Competitions including the Discerning Eye. David Lee, the fierce art critic and editor of the Jackdaw has said “Terrence Ffyffe will in time prove to be a Great Painter”.

St Stephen Walbrook hosts a regular programme of contemporary art exhibitions. We partner either with established art societies (such as the National Society of Painters, Sculptors & Printmakers or the Society of Catholic Artists) or significant art historian such Edward Lucie-Smith. In 2016 our programme featured work by the Stuckist artist Joe Machine, artist-priest Alan Everett, Brazilian artist Kim Poor, a digital installation by Michael Takeo Magruder, and group shows by the National Society and commission4mission. For 2017 we have planned an exhibition of crucifixion drawings by Francis Bacon, solo shows by Hannah Thomas, Regan O'Callaghan and Alexander de Cadenet, a digital residency by Daniel Bourke, and a Holy Saturday Night Vigil with the digital artwork of Mark Dean.

St Stephen Walbrook, while being a neo-Classical masterpiece, has, by acquiring a modern altar by Henry Moore complemented by a circular re-ordering and further commissions from Patrick Heron, Hans Coper and Andrew Varah, become a space which stands at the heart of the story of connections between the worlds of modern art and Christianity. The church also contains significant woodwork and carving by William Newman which provides a spatial frame and backdrop to the regular programme of contemporary art exhibitions that the church hosts. All of which makes St Stephen Walbrook a significant and special venue in which to view art.

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Eric Whitacre - Fly To Paradise.

Art of Faith: A City Walk

Together with fellow commission4mission member Mark Lewis, I have been involved in researching the Art of Faith walk, recently produced by the Corporation of London with the support of the Diocese of London. This walk enables walkers to discover contemporary works of art in the City’s historic churches, including work by Henry Moore, Damien Hirst and Jacob Epstein.

The City of London has the greatest concentration of historic church buildings anywhere in the country. In the 16th century there were 111 churches in the City. 80 were destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666 with 51 subsequently rebuilt under the direction of Sir Christopher Wren. Today there are no fewer than 42 historic churches situated within the Square Mile, all of which are either Grade I or Grade II listed, and together they illustrate an extraordinary breadth of architectural history.

Less well known is the extent to which they contain significant examples of art commissioned from the 20th century onwards. Many of the churches in the City were damaged by bombing during World War II, providing opportunities in the post-war reconstruction to engage with contemporary art. These artworks are by prominent modern artists such as Jacob Epstein, Patrick Heron, Damien Hirst, Henry Moore, John Skeaping and Bill Viola, as well as work by other reputable artists such as Thetis Blacker, John Hayward and Keith New.

The Art of Faith walk is the second Art Trail created through the work of commission4mission. The first was for the Barking Episcopal Area and was researched and developed by commission4mission member, artist and Fine Arts lecturer, Mark Lewis. Again, a leaflet (Barking_Art_trail) publicises the Trail and provides information about the featured artists and churches. The leaflet includes a map showing the churches featured on the Trail together with contact details, so that visits to one or more churches can be planned in advance.

Mark Lewis’ brief was to research commissioned art and craft in the Episcopal Area from the past 100 years. While stained glass is the dominant Ecclesiastical art form, he was also concerned to show a diversity and variety of media and styles within the selections made. He highlighted works such as the significant mosaic by John Piper at St Paul’s Harlow and the striking ‘Spencer-esque’ mural by Fyffe Christie at St Margaret’s Standford Rivers. Churches with particularly fine collections of artworks included: St Albans, Romford; St Andrew’s Leytonstone; St Barnabas Walthamstow; St Margaret’s Barking; St Mary’s South Woodford; and St Paul’s Goodmayes.

The Art Trail for the Barking Episcopal Area also inspired Revd David New from Worcester to put together his own informative Art Trail leaflet about Thomas Denny‘s stained glass work focusing on churches in the Three Choirs area – Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.

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Van Morrison - Contemplation Rose.

Richard Tuttle: Forms imbued with a sense of spirituality

In The Spiritual Dynamic in Modern Art: Art History Reconsidered, 1800 to the Present, Charlene Spretnak argues that the 'history of modern art has generally been understood as a grand leap away from tradition, religion, and conventional norms, yielding decidedly secular art.' 'Yet a majority of the prominent modern artists in every period had strong interests in the spiritual dimension of life, which they expressed in the new art forms they created. The Spiritual Dynamic in Modern Art draws on direct statements by scores of leading artists – cited from little known historical documentation as well as contemporary interviews – to demonstrate that spirituality, far from being inconsequential in the terrain of modern art, is generative. This magisterial overview insightfully presents, for the first time, a chronological survey of the major art movements that weaves together spiritual profiles of numerous leading artists and situates their stories within the cultural context of each period. The result is a significantly expanded understanding of the cultural history of modern art.'

Richard Tuttle is one of the contemporary artists which Spretnak features in the book. Tuttle currently has two exhibitions in London:

• Pace London is presenting The Critical Edge, an exhibition of recent works in fabric by Richard Tuttle, on view from 13 April to 13 May 2017 at 6 Burlington Gardens.
• My Birthday Puzzle is Richard Tuttle’s fourth solo exhibition with Modern Art, for which he has made two new bodies of work. 31 March - 13 May.

'Without a specific reference point, Tuttle’s investigations of line, volume, color, texture, shape, and form are imbued with a sense of spirituality and informed by a deep intellectual curiosity. Teasing beauty out of humble materials, the artist reflects the fragility of the world in his poetic works, which he often presents at a scale antithetical to the art world.'

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Bruce Cockburn - Put It In Your Heart.

The art of discovering beauty

Here is the Thought for the Week that I have prepared this week for St Martin-in-the-Fields:

After Easter I read ‘The Spiritual Dynamic in Modern Art’ in which Charlene Spretnak demonstrates that ‘nearly every significant art movement of the modern period emerged partially in response to spiritual issues in the zeitgeist and the particular spiritual interests of numerous artist s’.

For many years, however, ‘the spiritual dynamic in modern art was all but invisible within the professional art world because it did not fit within the contours of the historicism of modern art’ as ‘the informing values and preferences of the secular modern worldview’ meant that spiritual content was viewed as ‘unbearably backward … irrelevant, and … distasteful’.

The book daylights ‘the great underground river of spiritual influences’ which ‘flowed through nearly all the major art movements’ of the modern era. St Martin’s, through its programme of loans, commissions and exhibitions, has also contributed to the ‘daylighting’ of this river. The present increasing awareness of these influences amounts to a resurrection or revival of interest in the links between spirituality and art.

At St Stephen Walbrook, our All Night Vigil on Easter Eve, based on Mark Dean’s films for the Stations of the Cross projected onto our Henry Moore altar, also daylighted these spiritual influences by means of readings exploring the spiritual influences of modern artists such as Andy Warhol and Yves Klein.

A prayer written by Yves Klein asks that God grant him ‘the favour of inhabiting my works and that they may become ever more beautiful, and also the favour that I may continually and regularly discover ever new and lovelier things in art even if alas I may not always be worthy to be a tool for the construction and creation of Great Beauty. Please let everything that comes out of me be Beautiful. Amen

I will be preaching in the 10.00am Eucharist at St Martin's tomorrow and will be saying more about Stations2017 in my sermon.

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Bob Dylan - Things Have Changed.

Reformation 500

The following piece is included in the latest newsletter for Churches Together in Westminster:

2017 is the 500th anniversary of Martin Luther posting his 95 theses on the door of the castle chapel in the German town of Wittenberg – an event that has become known as the starting point of the Reformation. Across the continent, numerous events are planned, from art to worship, to remember that episode in Christian history, and to reflect on its influence on our society as an extensive movement of reform. The anniversary is an opportunity to explore how a better understanding of what took place 500 years ago in Wittenberg can draw people and churches closer together. 

Churches Together in England have been urged to keep this anniversary together in the spirit of five 'R's:

• Rejoicing – because of the joy in the gospel which we share, and because what we have in common is greater than that which divides; and that God is patient with our divisions, that we are coming back together and can learn from each other. 
• Remembering – because all three streams of the Reformation have their witnesses and one church’s celebration could be another’s painful memory; and yet all believed they acted in the cause of the gospel of Jesus Christ for their time. 
• Reforming – because the Church needs always to grow closer to Christ, and therefore closer to all who proclaim him Lord, and it is by the mutual witness of faith that we will approach the unity for which Christ prayed for his followers. 
• Repenting – because the splintering of our unity led us to formulate stereotypes and prejudices about each other’s traditions which have too often diverted our attention from our calling as witnesses together to the mercy of God in proclamation and service to the world. 
• Reconciling – because the call to oneness in Christ begins from the perspective of unity not division, strengthening what is held in common, even though the differences are more easily seen and experienced. In national and local events, whether together or separately, churches are seeking to honour each other and give thanks for our growing friendship and fellowship in the Gospel. 

One such initiative is ‘Still Reforming’, in which twelve parishes across London are welcoming each other, fellow Londoners, and visitors on their doorsteps, inviting them to experience for themselves the diverse heritage of the Reformation. Each month, a different congregation is hosting an event beginning at its open door, in the hope that all those involved will learn something new, exchange ideas and perspectives, and attempt to understand together what the relevance of the Reformation is for us today. Several CTiW churches are involved. 

The Anglican-Lutheran Society in Partnership with Women and the Church (WATCH) London and St Anne’s Lutheran Church is organising three evenings of interactive presentations and social time to be held at St Mary-at-Hill, Lovat Lane, Eastcheap, London, EC3R 8EE, home to the Lutheran Congregation of St Anne’s, on Women of the Reformation: Overlooked Stories. On Thursday 18 May, 6.30-8.30pm, Anne Boileau, author of Katharina Luther: Nun. Rebel. Wife, will present Katharina von Bora, Dr. Martin Luther's Wife. Then, on Thursday 22 June, 6.30-8.30pm, Rev'd Dr Roy Long, a retired Pastor in the Lutheran Church in Great Britain, will speak about Katherine Parr, Henry VIII's Last Wife. Finally, on Thursday 29 June, 6.30-8.30pm, Rev’d Eliza Zikmane (Lutheran Pastor), Rev’d Dr Julia Candie (Anglican Vicar) and Sally Barnes (Anglican Lay Woman) will provide stories of Women Reformers Then and Now. 

Conferences which may be of interest include Reformation 500: Ecumenical Perspectives, the annual conference of the Society for Ecumenical Studies, on 17 June in Oxford and Responding to the Reformation, the Churches Together in England conference, from 16-18 October in Swanwick. 

See www.reformation500.uk for a fuller listing of Reformation 500 events.

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Martin Luther - Come, Christians One and All, Rejoice.