Stan Brakhage and the Art of Vision

The good folks at Transpositions (St. Andrew’s) have published another piece of mine as part of their Christianity and Film Symposium, this time on one of my favourite “experimental” filmmakers; click here to read “Visionary Film: The Apocalyptic Eye of Stan Brakhage.” Thanks to Transpositions editor Cole Matson, we were even able to get permission […]

New books on theology and the arts

Here are a few books about theological aesthetics coming out in the next little while that I am looking forward to. Maybe if I list them here some kind book editor will send me a copy. Bruce Ellis Benson, Liturgy as a Way of Life: Embodying the Arts in Christian Worship I like what I […]

Opening theology

A quote for the day: Art is only one clue amongst others to another way. Perhaps a theology of art can never claim the urgency of feminist, green or liberation theologies. Its task is, none the less, to journey with them towards a more open theology in which the Church does not imagine itself as […]

Chaos and creation with Phil Irish

Full disclosure: I missed this recent show by Ontario-based artist Phil Irish. However, the artist was kind enough to allow me to share these images as well as answer a few of my questions about his work. [Click here to read his bio/CV/exhibition history.] I am quite interested in not only the thematic underpinnings of […]

Visions and dreams

Some great reading in the midst of my “comps” (comprehensive exams, the second stage of the TST doctoral program)… first off, this insightful book by Timothy Gorringe. And secondly, this one which is great in terms of re-examining “disinterestedness” vs. desire in art: Thirdly, a healthy dose of the very continental J.-L. Marion. [Is it […]

More black pits, less glowing cottages

Daniel Siedell is one of the very best writers working at the intersection of theology and art today. His recent piece on the “Dark Light of Thomas Kinkade” is brilliant – click here to read it over at Patheos (the new home of the Image magazine Good Letters blog!). Here’s a small excerpt. I love […]

A faith and doubt playlist, part 2

Now that I have a daughter, I can look forward to some day standing in front of a puzzled class of Grade One students on Career Day explaining that I am not a doctor, lawyer or carpenter but a “theologian.” (Or better yet, a “theologue.”) I’m the first to admit that it’s a strange career […]

Two upcoming conferences on theology and art

I thought I’d mention two upcoming conferences (with attendant calls for papers!) that may interest readers of this blog: First off, the Institute for Theology, Imagination and the Arts at St. Andrew’s in Scotland is hosting “Theatrical Theology: Conversations on Performing the Faith” from August 15-17. Here’s a link to the conference site. Basically their […]

RIP Thomas Kinkade

It’s early in the morning and I am sitting here typing one-handed with a baby in my other arm. I think this is how life is going to be for the next little while! But that’s OK with me. I just found out that the “painter of light,” Thomas Kinkade, has passed away at 54. […]

A faith and doubt playlist, part 1

Can a song change you? Can it get inside your mind and, like Rilke’s archaic torso, demand in no uncertain terms “You must change your life”? In my own experience, I think it is possible. As Balthasar notes, music is a much more internal medium than sight or even touch… it “oscillates” between inner and […]