Books on the Arts
New Life’s fourth annual apologetics conference is coming soon. On Saturday, Nov. 1, we will hear speakers Russ Ramsey and Jim Spiegel talk about “Sacred Beauty: Christianity and the Arts.” It’s a free event that will last from 9 am to 3 pm, so mark your calendar and invite your friends. If you want to prime the pump by doing some reading on the arts, here are some suggested books for your consideration:
Rembrandt is in the Wind – Russ Ramsey - Yes, this is the author who will be speaking at our conference. Ramsey explains in this book how important it is for Christians to be perceptive about the presence of beauty in the world around them. Evangelicals are good at pursuing goodness and truth, but beauty often "remains a distant third" (p.9). Christians would do well to reflect on Blaise Pascal's observation that "every man is almost always led to believe not through proof, but through that which is attractive." (p.13)
Ramsey devotes each chapter to a distinct visual artist, including luminaries like Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Van Gogh, and Hopper. This book is about the personal lives of these artists as much as it is about their art, along with spiritual lessons drawn from their personal struggles and sorrows.
The story of Lilias Trotter is especially interesting – a woman with exceptional artistic skills who put aside a promising career so she could devote her life to Christian missions. Did she do the right thing? Did she squander fame and fortune? As her biographer wrote, she "knew the pain of giving up something good for something she deems better." (p.204)
The Liberated Imagination – Leland Ryken - Among many evangelical Christians, there has long been a suspicion of the arts. Sometimes believers are uncomfortable with the ambiguity of artistic works, and sometimes the concern (understandably) is the immoral content we find in many movies and much music.
If you’re looking for a basic overview of how to appreciate the arts from a Christian perspective, this book is the place to start. Ryken (Phil Ryker’s father, by the way) explains the purpose of the arts, what the Bible says about art, how art functions to capture truth, and what are some “recent” (pre-1989) trends in the arts.
It has long been my theory that the creative instinct in people is a kind of proof for God’s existence, because creativity points to a Creator. Laurence Perrine says every artist, whether Christian or not, is seeking to imitate our creative God. Ryken writes, “The Biblical doctrine of the image of God in people is the theological reason why people write literature and paint pictures and compose music. They create because they have been endowed with God’s image.’ (p.67)
Ryker’s clear writing and organized thinking make this book easy to follow and understand.
Art and Fear – David Bayles & Ted Orland - This brief book is not written so much for art appreciation, but for art making. The authors contend that what keeps most people from being an artist is fear — fear about their own abilities, fear about what others think, fear of wanting to quit, fear of not being understood. This book is helpful for encouraging the insecure artist to move forward, because if you don’t try, you definitely won’t succeed. (p.118)
One of the biggest struggles for any artist (and the writers give a nod to all forms — painting, film, music, writing, and especially photography) is the fear that there is always someone better (p.71). The writers offer encouragement: “The important point is not that you have — or don’t have — what other artists have, but rather that it doesn’t matter. Whatever they have is something needed to do their work – it wouldn’t help you in your work if you had it.” (p.34)
Bayles and Orland also make the point that the more effective the artistic creation, the more likely the reaction to it will be “anger and denial” (p.67). Sometimes the greatest works of art are not easy, conventional and safe. The great artists tend to not be those who follow the rules, but those who make “art from which the rules inevitably follow.” (p.95)
Other recommended books on the arts, which I won’t take time to review here, include:
The State of the Arts - Gene Veith
Art and the Bible - Francis Schaeffer
