Incarnation. To enflesh. That was the topic that carried us through the morning, looking at Jesus as “form” to God’s “content”, seeing in the action of the incarnation the essential move the artist must make. Abstraction is a beginning, but like faith, it is dead without work. The move to the concrete is everything. An idea sitting in an artist’s head may inspire him as he first conceives it–there is always a rush of excitement when an idea announces itself. But without a strong set of skills, the will to push the work to its finish, and an unrelenting commitment to detail and specifics, the work will die, or worse, be shallow, if not false.
We took a very brief look at the history of art in the church, and reflected on humans as symbol making people. Whether its baptism or the Eucharist, the fish and anchor in the catacombs, the icons of medieval Europe and Russia, or the ubiquitous crosses of today, we are people of comparative minds, seeking to capture in glimpse the deep and profound truths we hold dear. The greatest symbols lead us to deeper understanding of those realities we just can’t get to with direct means. As Emily Dickinson said, “Tell it slant.”
Today is a hodge-podge of a day, where I tackle the history of aesthetics with only a couple of major points to make. Then we look at the theological categories of Salvation and Eschatology, which, oddly, enough, make for a great intro into Pop Culture crit.
We’ll watch a lot of You-Tube, and listen to lots of music.
I guess Texas, for me, is so much about the sky. Sunset was typical last night, but typical here is pretty special. Somehow shooting photos settles me. Enjoy.
48 hours to heading home…
JEFF BERRYMAN 