Photos From St Patrick's Cathedral

Friday night I returned from a 10 day trip to NYC and NJ filled with art and fun. If you follow AOA you likely know my love of St. Patrick's Cathedral. I made several visits (4 I think). Here are a few shots from my visits.

Bringing artists to the world of print | State of the Arts | Minnesota Public Radio

Bringing artists to the world of print | State of the Arts | Minnesota Public Radio

Mpls Photo Center Alternatives Invite

For those not in the art world, gallery calls for showing come in waves: typically two per year. The second is going on right now through November. Galleries are putting together their spring lineup.

This show at the Mpls Photo Center had a quick turnaround with invite and show going up at the beginning of November. One of my pieces from this past summer was chosen and will hang alongside many remarkable pieces. There is a slideshow of selected images on MPC site here.

If you are in the Mpls area please go check out the show. I will be in NYC and will be unable to make it to the opening. If you go, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the show.

A Few Thoughts on Religion, Art and Censorship

Last week as I mentioned I was out at the North Dakota University Systems Arts and Humanities Summit. It was a great cozy little conference at Dickinson State in the loveliest part of North Dakota right outside the badlands. The University of North Dakota made an impressive showing of conference participation unlike a certain school 70 miles to the south of UND.

Both Patrick Luber and I presented on the curious relationship between art and religion. My presentation simple looking at the theological roots and interests that emerge in my artwork. While Patrick's presentation was more philosophical in nature considering the tenuous history of Christianity's participation in the arts. Despite the divergent approaches to our recent papers, we end up at similar positions that rely upon God's sovereignty to be revealed and use whatever means necessary for God's purposes. I think we would both suggest that a sacramental system allows an intelligent, nuanced, restrained and yet affirming engagement with the material world, and in particular the arts, that sidesteps knee jerk reactions and moralistic judgements.

Unbeknownst to me, a storm of religion and art was brewing 8 hours south of us as a Montana woman drove to Loveland Colorado with intents to destroy a work of art that had been challenged as inappropriate, smut, blasphemous and all the other basic descriptions that many religious folk use to denounce provocative pieces that deal with religion. The Denver Post has been covering the story with some basic articles which you can read here, here, here, and if you look to the right of each article there are links to more articles.

Violent actions toward art is nothing new as the one article recalls, which includes a very long history of religious destruction of work by both Christians and other religious traditions (the articles point out recent examples by the Taliban). Perhaps it is my personality, perhaps my education, perhaps it is my love of the arts, perhaps it is my love of learning and trying to understand others has perhaps given me a higher tolerance for engaging cultural forms. Perhaps. Whatever it is, I am drawn toward understanding these experiences, and trying to better articulate a Christian response.

One of the more curious aspects to this story is the difference between the methodologies of action between the woman who reacted violently by destroying the work with that of the Catholic deacon who arranged a peaceful protest and was heartbroken in the aftermath of the violence. Which, if any is the appropriate Christian action?

Why the knee jerk reactions? I am always puzzled at how quickly we respond with moral rejections of work without knowing context or meaning. What is the artist trying to say? What experiences are behind this work of art? Is their comment valid? Does the church need to hear their voice? These are some of the first questions we should be asking. Once we have come to understand the work of art in question, then, and only then, can we offer a Christian response and further engagement.

This has gotten to be a long post...more thoughts to come

Keepin' at it...

Life is busy right now...which is unfortunately why this blog often sits dormant for a week or two at a time. Today I am headed out to Dickinson State University for the NDUS Arts and Humanities Summit. I will be presenting a paper on the theological roots of my artwork that I've titled "Embodying Theology: Artistic Practice and Theological Reflection." In the paper I briefly recount my theological journey towards Canterbury with particular interest paid to the sacramental imagination. Using that methodology I introduce the two central research trajectories of memory and place and what I mean by these. In the third movement of the paper I look at specific examples of my work (most of which has been posted here) that embody these themes.

Valley City State University Show

Later this morning, I am headed to Valley City ND for an artist reception with several of my UND classmates. Besides the two hour drive out and back, it should be a great day. I am really looking forward to seeing our work in a gallery. Our work is so distinct from one another so I am really curious how it comes together into show.

Below is the press release from VCSU.

UND Graduate Students, Meghan Duda, Ryan Stander, Patrick Awotwe, and Jessica Christy will be on campus Friday, September 24 working with the VCSU Art Students. A panel discussion is scheduled in McCarthy 356 at 2:00 pm and a reception for the artists will be held in the VCSU Art Gallery 4:00 - 5:30 pm. The VCSU community and the public are welcome to attend.

Five Graduate Students from the University of North Dakota’s Master of Fine Arts program were invited to submit work for the exhibition that sets the stage for the artists' visit. The exhibition includes weavings from Patrick Awotwe; altered photographs from Meghan Duda; monoprints / monotypes from Anna Jacobson; lithographs, Ziatypes, and Cyanotypes from Ryan Stander; mixed media lithographs from Jessica Christy.

The Exhibition runs through October 1.

In his weaving and jewelry making Patrick Awotwe creates designs using traditional symbols that reference compositions from his African culture. Mr. Awotwe enrolled in graduate school in metalsmithing and jewelry and found a second creative voice in fibers. His homeland, Ghana, is noted for unique traditional weaving called kinte but his first fiber-works were created at UND. He describes the weaving of his daughter: "The Sunrise is a damask wall hanging that was inspired by Nhyira, my daughter. The bottom part shows a silhouette of her picture with fewer details and the top shows her full portrait. Traditional Ghanaian symbols “Gye Nyame” and “Afe “were used to give it an African identity. Nhyira literally means Blessing and the Sunrise is to describe her.”

Meghan Duda is fascinated with two things, architecture and photography. She has a professional degree in architecture from Virginia Tech and teaches an architectural photography seminar in the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at North Dakota State University. Ms. Duda states, “My selected photographs are a study of cutting.” She frames her photographs around elements that can be removed thus creating negative space. Meghan has exhibited through out the Midwest and Virginia. She also has been published and received a finalist recognition twice in competitions presented by Photography's Forum Magazine.

The family farm lifestyle and the fundamentals of organic farming have been ingrained in Anna Jacobson inner self and thought process and thus is the basis of her work. Nature’s cycles and the North Dakota landscape found their voices in the color, texture, and process of her work. Coming from the flat plains of rural North Dakota, Anna learned the value of simple beauty. Her work is not filled with complex details or bright commercial colors, but rich, full earthtone colors and textured details of the great American Midwest. Anna received her BA in studio arts with an empasis printmaking from Concordia College in Morehead, MN.

Ryan Stander's interests in theology and art are rooted in ideas of place/space, memory and identity formation. Mr. Stander has a MA in Theology from Sioux Falls Seminary and a BA in Art from Northwestern College. His work included in the exhibition comes from two bodies of work. The Religion as a Chain of Memory Series draws upon his theological research into place and memory. His Ziatype and Cyanotype Icon / Altars “draw upon the interplay of memory, identity and the photographic object itself, while playing with the traditional forms of Christian iconography and devotional altars."

Jessica Christy’s mixed media lithographs are a response to mass media, contemporary art history, and family heritage. Technically her work examines not only traditional printmaking but also the territory beyond the practiced techniques. Her work has been exhibited through out the Midwest, on the west coast and in London winning numerous awards. She works with the master press at UND, as both an assistant to the master printer and as a master printer, printing lithograph and intaglio editions for various well-known artists. Ms. Christy teaches drawing, printmaking, and design at UND. Jessica is a Valley City State University alumni who graduated with a BS in Art.

Even More Prints...

As promised...A few more finished prints, including my Oktoberfest invite. The first two are obviously related to the ongoing series. The invite...well...thats just for fun.