by Jason Joyner | Jan 13, 2011 | arts, Blog, creativity, internet, resources
I’ve been a fan of Charlie Peacock and his music since I first found out about him in 1991 (sheesh, that sounds long ago…). His music is intelligent, creative, risky, and often has a great beat to dance to.
He’s taken his love of God and his artistic nature and fused into something that sounds pretty special. The Art House is the ministry in Nashville with his wife Andi where they host artistic types of all kinds and nurture them in creativity and faith. It has spun off to a physical location in Dallas as well, plus the internet home at Art House America. You can find out more of their vision on the About page.
Not all of us will get the chance to go there (though I’m holding my breath). The website has articles from thinkers on subjects of artistry (music, books, film), justice, creation care, and hospitality, just to name a few. I really enjoyed an article by Andi on raising artful kids, from her perspective as a grandmother. Neat stuff there!
I encourage my creative friends to check out Art House America. Maybe God has something to speak to you from there.
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by Jason Joyner | Jan 13, 2011 | arts, Blog, creativity, internet, resources
I’ve been a fan of Charlie Peacock and his music since I first found out about him in 1991 (sheesh, that sounds long ago…). His music is intelligent, creative, risky, and often has a great beat to dance to.
He’s taken his love of God and his artistic nature and fused into something that sounds pretty special. The Art House is the ministry in Nashville with his wife Andi where they host artistic types of all kinds and nurture them in creativity and faith. It has spun off to a physical location in Dallas as well, plus the internet home at Art House America. You can find out more of their vision on the About page.
Not all of us will get the chance to go there (though I’m holding my breath). The website has articles from thinkers on subjects of artistry (music, books, film), justice, creation care, and hospitality, just to name a few. I really enjoyed an article by Andi on raising artful kids, from her perspective as a grandmother. Neat stuff there!
I encourage my creative friends to check out Art House America. Maybe God has something to speak to you from there.
—
by Jason Joyner | Jun 15, 2010 | arts, Blog, Christianity, creativity
No, I’m not quite dead yet.
(May have felt close recently, but that’s nothing y’all want to hear about…)
Between being busy, having *ahem* issues, and having the first two items here sap my inspiration, I haven’t had the chance to post. Don’t give up on me though. There’s still some new stuff rattling around my cranium.
For instance, in reading Christianity Today from May 2010, I cam across a little segment they have at the end of the magazine entitled “Who’s Next: People You Should Know.” This month talked about W. David O. Taylor, an arts pastor in Austin, Texas, who has his first book entitled For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts just released.
Now, I’ve talked a lot about creativity and the Christian artist, and the importance of encouraging this as a form of worship and expression that the church needs. I’ve also promoted letting a Christian artist have freedom to produce what they have in mind without expectations. (Here’s a selection of posts of mine on the topic). I’ve usually gone to Francis Schaeffer as an authority on this, and how his book Art and the Bible shows that there is beauty created in the Bible for beauty’s sake, not for an evangelistic purpose.
In reading the short interview with David Taylor, I realized a bit of corrective needed to be applied to my argument. He makes this profound statement:
We shouldn’t stop with classical ideas about beauty; we also need to think about beauty Christologically. The moment we sever beauty from the death and resurrection of Christ, we risk sliding toward idealism or petty-ism.
I thought that was very important, and a point I have not made well enough in the past. Now, I still believe that art can be made for art’s sake, for beauty’s sake. But for the Christian artist, if we are truly walking in a redeemed mindset and a new life, then Christ needs to inform our work. The work of the cross affects what we do. I still don’t believe it has to be blantantly Christian, but a Christian is not free to do “whatever.” Not if we’re true to the One who gave us our gift and redeems it.
So add Mr. Taylor’s great statement to my previous positions about Christianity and the arts.
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by Jason Joyner | Jun 15, 2010 | arts, Blog, Christianity, creativity
No, I’m not quite dead yet.
(May have felt close recently, but that’s nothing y’all want to hear about…)
Between being busy, having *ahem* issues, and having the first two items here sap my inspiration, I haven’t had the chance to post. Don’t give up on me though. There’s still some new stuff rattling around my cranium.
For instance, in reading Christianity Today from May 2010, I cam across a little segment they have at the end of the magazine entitled “Who’s Next: People You Should Know.” This month talked about W. David O. Taylor, an arts pastor in Austin, Texas, who has his first book entitled For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts just released.
Now, I’ve talked a lot about creativity and the Christian artist, and the importance of encouraging this as a form of worship and expression that the church needs. I’ve also promoted letting a Christian artist have freedom to produce what they have in mind without expectations. (Here’s a selection of posts of mine on the topic). I’ve usually gone to Francis Schaeffer as an authority on this, and how his book Art and the Bible shows that there is beauty created in the Bible for beauty’s sake, not for an evangelistic purpose.
In reading the short interview with David Taylor, I realized a bit of corrective needed to be applied to my argument. He makes this profound statement:
We shouldn’t stop with classical ideas about beauty; we also need to think about beauty Christologically. The moment we sever beauty from the death and resurrection of Christ, we risk sliding toward idealism or petty-ism.
I thought that was very important, and a point I have not made well enough in the past. Now, I still believe that art can be made for art’s sake, for beauty’s sake. But for the Christian artist, if we are truly walking in a redeemed mindset and a new life, then Christ needs to inform our work. The work of the cross affects what we do. I still don’t believe it has to be blantantly Christian, but a Christian is not free to do “whatever.” Not if we’re true to the One who gave us our gift and redeems it.
So add Mr. Taylor’s great statement to my previous positions about Christianity and the arts.
—
by Jason Joyner | Mar 10, 2010 | arts, Blog, creativity, Dick Staub, Ralph Winter, stories
I’ve mentioned Dick Staub and his podcasts on Kindlings Muse – a discussion of art and faith. He had a recent interview with Ralph Winter, who is a Hollywood producer. He’s worked on several highly successful films, such as X-Men 1 and 2. He is also a Christian who has managed to have a long career in Hollywood though the ups and downs of the “culture war”.
You can listen to the whole interview here. I just wanted to pull out a couple of points they talk about regarding the art of storytelling.
Ralph is talking about screenplays in particular, but he talks about the importance of knowing who the hero is, and how the most powerful moment in the movie is when the main character reveals “something about themselves they didn’t know at the beginning of the journey.” He feels this is when the reader or viewer is going to get emotionally involved.
Staub and Winter go on to discuss C.S. Lewis and his statement about a great book being one you want to read over and over. Winter relates this to movies, and talks about some of his favorites, like Ben Hur and Gladiator. He loves the journey, the choices the leads make, and he ultimately says he wants to live in that world.
So, how do we create a world that is engrossing enough we want to live there? How do we make our protagonists engaging enought that the reader is taken along the journey and experiences something when the protagonist has their “revelation?”
I think these are good points to ponder, but they also help me segue into the next topic I wanted to talk about…next time…
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by Jason Joyner | Mar 10, 2010 | arts, Blog, creativity, Dick Staub, Ralph Winter, stories
I’ve mentioned Dick Staub and his podcasts on Kindlings Muse – a discussion of art and faith. He had a recent interview with Ralph Winter, who is a Hollywood producer. He’s worked on several highly successful films, such as X-Men 1 and 2. He is also a Christian who has managed to have a long career in Hollywood though the ups and downs of the “culture war”.
You can listen to the whole interview here. I just wanted to pull out a couple of points they talk about regarding the art of storytelling.
Ralph is talking about screenplays in particular, but he talks about the importance of knowing who the hero is, and how the most powerful moment in the movie is when the main character reveals “something about themselves they didn’t know at the beginning of the journey.” He feels this is when the reader or viewer is going to get emotionally involved.
Staub and Winter go on to discuss C.S. Lewis and his statement about a great book being one you want to read over and over. Winter relates this to movies, and talks about some of his favorites, like Ben Hur and Gladiator. He loves the journey, the choices the leads make, and he ultimately says he wants to live in that world.
So, how do we create a world that is engrossing enough we want to live there? How do we make our protagonists engaging enought that the reader is taken along the journey and experiences something when the protagonist has their “revelation?”
I think these are good points to ponder, but they also help me segue into the next topic I wanted to talk about…next time…
—
