No comments about Dayspring in Darkness: Sacrament in Hopkins.

No comments about Contextualization of Christianity in Africa: A Case Study of the Kpelle Tribe in Liberia.

No comments about Metalwork of the Islamic World: The Aron Collection.

3 comments about Van Gogh and God: A Creative Spiritual Quest (Campion Book).

1. Eventhough my studies do not allow me a great deal of time to read books of my choice, I could not deny the work of Dr. "Cliffy-baby" Edwards. His book, "Van Gogh and God: A Creative Spiritual Quest" was just that. It was, in every sense of the phrase, a creatively spiritual page turner. His language and content captures the reader's mind and by doing so, captures the reader's spiritual core. Once mesmerized by the life, work, and creative madness of the artist, the reader becomes smoothly inundated with the thorough biographical information that Dr. Edwards so eloquently puts to page. At the risk of sounding mildly educated, I had never realized the influence Zen Buddhism had on the artist until reading Dr. Edwards' book. I did, of course, realize the "oriental" aspect of Van Gogh's approach to painting but I never knew of his "Zen Buddhist" approach to living. Sometimes the samurai leaves the monarchy and spends his life in caves painting. Congratulations Dr. E. for a fine work indeed.



2. I recently heard the author of Van Gogh and God, Dr. Cliff Edwards, speak about Vincent. At this particular gathering, he also showed wonderful slides of the artist's work. As a result of that encounter with Dr. Edwards and Vincent Van Gogh, I bought Dr. Edwards' warm and accessible book, Van Gogh and God. While reading it, much like the disciples who spoke to Christ without recognizing him on the road to Emmaus, I felt my heart burn within me while Vincent's life opened up before me like a lotus flower. I especially connected with Van Gogh's insistence that he was "not an admirer" of biblical subjects (to paint). Apparently he felt that paintings such as The Nativity and Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane avoided getting to the "reality of things" and gave him "a powerful feeling of collapse instead of progress." To paint biblical material must have felt inauthentic to Vincent as he journeyed on his spiritual quest. Lois Lowry in her book, The Giver, addresses this very issue of authenticity. Jonas, the hero, lives in a community where sameness and conformity are valued. Jonas sees things differently, though, and is chosen to become the one who acts as receptacle and transmitter of the community's collective memory. Jonas receives these memories/stories from the Giver, someone who currently has the task of holding memory. One of the questions the book raises in the reader's mind is, "When does a story become MY story?" People in Jonas' community lived without authenticity because the locus of memory was institutionalized within an individual. I couldn't help but think that Vincent, striving for authenticity, wanted to show that those sacred memories (institutionalized in the Church and in biblical paintings) gave him "a powerful feeling of collapse instead of progress." For a story (either word or image) to have meaning, it must first connect with an individual's experience. Vincent Van Gogh, like Jonas, saw things differently. Both struggled in a world that would have preferred their acquiesence to the status quo. Dr. Edwards convincingly shows that Vincent imaged God outside the parameters and conventions of the Church. Dr. Edwards suggests that "[p]erhps such profound power revealed through one's life task was a more accurate description of the divine than the word 'God.' " Another powerful image is "the child in a cradle as best evidence for God." As Dr. Edwards points out, "Vincent experiences God in the concreteness of his own most intense and significant personal history." We all do. Vincent found meaning in his life's work, his care and concern for the prostitute Sien, her daughter, and newborn son, and also in nature--wheat, flowers, olive groves, cypress trees. To image and paint a Christ that has no personal connection is, again, to live inauthentically. It would appear that Vincent would have none of that. One of my favorite parts in Dr. Edwards' book is in the Preface. "[M]ost Judeo-Christian scholars...[take] the unyielding position that religion must be expressed primarily as hearing and obeying, and cannot be expressed significantly as seeing and creating. Dr. Edwards shows how Vincent navigated those waters. It gives hope to those of us who have felt stifled by the Church's insistence that memory/story resides within its embrace.



3. The author misleads the reader by perpetuating two myths about van Gogh's religious life 1) that he was raised Calvinist and 2) that he was Buddist. If the author had taken the time to research van Gogh's biography, he would have found that van Gogh's family rejected Calvinism entirely, particularly the notions of sin and limited salvation, for a more liberal theology, favoring universal salvation and the belief that God dwells within us all. The author continues his false representation of van Gogh by arguing that he became a Buddist after he left the Christian ministry. This is based on one simple painting that van Gogh made for his friend, Gauguin, with his head shaven like a Buddist monk. Although van Gogh was thoroughly fascinated with Oriental culture, he never visted the Far East, never studied Buddism, nor did he show any real understanding of its basic ideas. In fact, all he learned of Asian culture and religion came from what he saw in the Japanese woodblock prints that came into Europe in the late 19th century and also what he garnered from reading 19th century French novels. Mr. Edwards only clouds our understanding of van Gogh with his own personal interests. For example, his discussion of van Gogh's famous work, "Crows over the Wheatfield," reads "The painting itself enters the mode of being of all things in their impermanence yet transformation, becoming a koan that poses the Zen Master's question: 'If you call this wheat you cling to it; if you do not call it wheat you depart from the facts, so what do you call it then?'" (What does this have to do with van Gogh?) The reader is best to stay away from this book entirely.

No comments about The Byzantine Wall Paintings of Crete (Art).

2 comments about Romanesque & Gothic France: Art and Architecture.

1. This is really helpful if you're doing your Levert project. I know that there are some of you out there who know what I'm talking about. So have fun! It's due in two days! Yay!



2. I was recently doing a school report on cathedrals in france and i came acrosss this little gem. It is packed with information on both romanesque and gothic architectural styles and is not only educational but also very intriguing. After doing my report, i continued to read this book and to learn more about architecture. I reccomend this book because it is both informative and well written.

2 comments about The Art of Zen: Paintings and Calligraphy by Japanese Monks 1600-1925.

1. This collection of zen masterpieces is one that you
   will return to again and again. Addiss has managed
   to cover the history of Japanese zen through ample
   biographies of zen artists with numerous samples
   of their painting and calligraphy. The book itself has
   the wonderful ability to capture the spirit of zen and
   Addiss, himself a marvelous artist and writer,
   inspires readers with experiences of enlightenment
   in just over 200 pages.



2. "The Art of Zen" is a beautiful, beautiful book and has taken its place on my read-again-and-again bookshelf. The 200+ page book is not only packed with the history of zen in Japan as exemplified by the major zen monk artists but complemented by many examples of their art. The history is divided into seven major periods that discussed the political and cultural climate of Japan as well as the philosophic perspective of Zen Buddhism.

   There are extensive biographies of each of the major monk artists with examples of the work and, often times, their poetry. For example, the death poem of Ryonen, one of zen nuns, reads, "In the autumn of my 66th year, I've already lived a long time- The intense moonlight is bright upon my face. There's no need to discuss the principles of koan study; Just listen carefully to the wind outside the pines and cedars."

   In addition, Addis brings an artist's eye to the paintings and his commentaries on technique, execution and innovation are enlightening (no pun intended)and help to explain how zen seeks to express the "inexpressible."

   I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Zen, in art, in the Japanese culture or with a desire to better understand the view of life seen by awakened men and women.

No comments about The Christian imagination: Essays on literature and the arts.

2 comments about The Icon: Window on the Kingdom.

1. Michel Quenot's THE ICON: Window on the Kingdom, translated into English by an anonymous Carthusian monk, is a concise introduction to the iconography of the Orthodox Church. Since its topic is images, it contains many figures, most of which come in gorgeous full colour.
   
   In spite of its short length of less than 200 pages, the book manages to cover all aspects of icons, such as the history and dogmatic foundations of the art, the place of the icon in the Church, and the methods by which they are made. The nature of the paintings themselves, that is, the geometric structure, colours, perspective, and use of light are exhaustively described. Quenot provides an analysis of four specific icons to point out the general themes presented. Throughout, Quenot (himself a member of the Orthodox Church) is keen to show the spiritual value of icons. They aren't a mere subject of dry academic study or art history, but true "windows to heaven" where the Christian contemplates the Kingdom of God. The book also gives a comparison of the development of religious imagery in the Roman Catholic Church alongside the constancy of the Byzantine icon, showing the uniqueness of Orthodoxy's iconography. This is a nice touch that is missing from many introductions.
   
   While the book does contain useful information. I found the writing somewhat repetetive and unfocused. The translation is also not entirely satisfactory. Some tighter proofreading and editing would have serve both the French original and this SVS Press translation well. Nonetheless, if you are interested in icons, this is a work worth perusing.



2. This book manages to deal with the theology, the history, the technique and the underlying philosophy of icon painting in a deceptively short number of pages. The author is a linguist who has closely studied his subject over many years. He wears his scholarship lightly. Perhaps out of respect for his subject he avoids any hint of egotism, prefering to quote from a wide range of authors ranging from the earliest days of Christianity down to the present day. His ostensibly modest comments, aparently centered on the icon, widen out into a critique of modern life and how it may be refocused through the contemplation of the spiritual perspective on which the icon is alone based.
   
   It would be hard to imagen a better selection of illustrations. Those range from the earliest examples from Greece through the golden age of Russian art through to Ouspensky and Kroug, including those artists who have managed to remain anonymous as the icon demands since they claim no credit for the inspiration which drives them. On the net itself some very good examples of real icons can be sourced through "Theologic WorldLinks" and others. Some iconographers can be contacted directly on the net but you have to wait before they get around to you. Vladimir Baranov of Siberia is wonderful (baranovv@academ.org) as is Vojislav Lukovic of Beograd (voj@eunet.eu). Both have websites, so you can see how their work can grace your home.

2 comments about Faith, Hope, and Light: The Art of the Stained Glass Window.

1. This is book for those moments of quite contemplation. When the world seems chaotic and despair seems to be the order of the day, and there seems to be no remedy, this book will provide you with joy. As you reflect upon the quotes from the people of diverse time periods and backgrounds you will see the common thread throughout history; faith , hope and light. Each page has a beautiful stained glass window from some house of worship, museum or private collection from various corners of the world. The colorful illuminations are magnificent and date from early Christendom to contemporary art all reproduced in exquisite detail. On the opposite page are quotations in big bold letters. The sayings are thought provoking,concise reflections on our purpose on this planet and our relationship to the seen and unseen. The themes are organized around the title of the book with the exception of love replacing light. The art work from the stained glass windows is only half the treasure of this book as the sayings are at times profound. Some of the simple examples from the book are as follows: from Love; "Love in its essence is spiritual fire," Emmanuel Swedenborg(1868-1772), from Hope; " Laugh and grow strong," St. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), from Faith ; "People see God every day, they just don't recognize him " Pearl Baily (1918-1990). These are some of the shortest quotes and very typical of the diversity . The sayings come from the unknown and known figures of time. I would recommend this book to you , to share with a family member, to give as a gift for a special person in your life, to spread the interchangeable terms of light and love. This is a good book to have near and read often, to look at the wisdom and common thread that binds all mankind.



2. This book made my heart leap with the beautiful juxtaposition of inspirational quotes and breathtakingly lovely stained glass windows. The art print colors are vibrantly rich and glowing. The windows and text span a broad historical and geographical range. They include windows from diverse places and times; 13th century French and English cathedrals, modern works by Marc Chagall, and windows from 20th century cathedrals in South America. The quotes are equally broad from Louis L'Amour to Leo Tolstoy; St.Francis of Assisi to Pearl Bailey. The text creatively intertwines with the art work to stop and make you marvel and wonder. This book is a perfect aid to meditation It warms the soul and spirit,it makes you contemplate and wonder and ultimaltely give thanks. It is a hope renewer in both art and faith and their wonderful ongoing connection.