Featured Essay / Avant-Garde
Here's a one-hour video about theology and California, or, more specifically, Theology and California, the book of essays that Jason Sexton and I edited (Ashgate, 2014). You can view it at Open Biola (which includes several video and audio options), or stream the embedded version here below. Jason and I were…
Essay / Art
The landscape in which the baptism of Christ is usually portrayed is a rocky wilderness, with craggy mountain peaks in the background and cliff-like stony river banks on either side of the Jordan. While Jesus stands in the middle of the river itself, John is
Essay / Art
Pictures of the baptism of Christ are visually busy, filled with characters and details. Since it’s a baptism, it makes sense to start with a close look at John the Baptist. John is an important New Testament character, and Christian artists have assigned him his
Essay / Art
The baptism of Christ is among the earliest New Testament scenes selected for depiction in Christian art. Günter Ristow mentions this in Die Taufe Christi (Recklinghausen: Verlag Aurel Bongers, 1965, 12). It is found in the catacombs, on early christian sarcophagi, and in the very
Essay / Art
Albrecht Dürer (born 1471, died on this day, April 6, in 1528) was widely hailed as the greatest artist of his generation in the northern Renaissance. All kinds of voluptuous shenanigans were going on in the wonderful world of the southern Renaissance, but if you
Essay / Art
I sometimes promote myself as the “world’s greatest systematic theologian cartoonist,” because it’s a pretty safe boast. If I ever meet another professional theologian who’s also a published cartoonist, I’ll have to adjust my bragging to something like “one of the two greatest.” But while
Essay / Art
Nuns fret not at their Convent’s narrow room; And Hermits are contented with their Cells; And Students with their pensive Citadels: Maids at the Wheel, the Weaver at his Loom, Sit blithe and happy; Bees that soar for bloom, High as the highest Peak of
Essay / Avant-Garde
It’s one thing to see an artist’s finished works hanging in a gallery, and another thing to live with an artist and see works in progress. When you live with an artist, you never know for sure which bits of clutter might be art, or
Essay / Avant-Garde
By Phoebe Age Six. The young artist who produced this image has described it as either “a kitty who thinks she’s an otter” or “an otter who thinks she’s a kitty.” Well, which is it? Even if we allow for the ambiguity of pictorial representation,
Essay / Avant-Garde
Once upon a time in Meowsyland, the cat a-meows-ment park, the cats members were making a plan to eat some birds. They were all cats, you know, and cats love to eat birds. Suddenly, a tiny bird flew up and landed right in front of
Essay / Avant-Garde
Once upon a time in Meowsyland, the cat a-meows-ment park known as “The Meowiest Place on Earth,” the cats members were all getting ready for a very busy day. Stripey was the Mayor of Meowsyland, with a big office on Meown Street. He was also
Essay / Art
The folks over at Theology Forum are hosting a blog exhibition this week on the work of Edward Knippers, an important American painter. On Monday they posted several pictures along with a statement by the artist. Not all artists are able to write about their
Essay / Avant-Garde
What you get when you describe the story of Mansfield Park to Freddy Age Eight.