Art & Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts, By Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin
Art & Soul
paperback
  • Length: 240 pages
  • Dimensions: 7.5 × 9.25 in
  • Published: November 27, 2001
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • Item Code: 4191
  • ISBN: 9780830841912

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More Christians than ever before are studying and working in music, painting, sculpture, theater, television, film, architecture and more. Are you one of them?

If so, you, like artists in every discipline, face the challenge of working in a way that is both wholly Christian and wholly contemporary, Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin have written this practical and inspirational guide for you.

In Art Soul you'll find encouragement for developing a Christian worldview from which you can approach your craft. Here the best teaching on Christianity and the arts during the past fifty years is digested and reapplied, supported by a wealth of quotes from artists, critics and Christian thinkers.

A wide range of illustrations, both historical and contemporary, illuminates the text as Brand and Chaplin explore the conflicting influences on Christians entering or working in the arts. They correlate the major biblical themes of creation, fall and redemption to the business of making art. And they examine the nature and purpose of the arts--along with the way you experience and interpret them. Finally, you'll find helpful guidelines on practicing and developing your art.

Here is the book to help you meet the challenges facing you today--both from the world of art and from the world of the church.

"Hilary Brand and Adrienne Chaplin have produced an academic but delightfully written book designed to fill a significant need for students who are contemplating a career or some active involvement in the arts. It is addressed to participants in all of the arts--visual, music, theatre, film or any combination of the above--as well as interested observers and consumers of art. . . . "I have used Art Soul as a text for a Senior Seminar in the visual arts, and it was enthusiastically received by students. Its usefulness, however, is certainly not limited to the classroom: anyone involved in music, theatre, film or the visual arts will find a wealth of stimulating material for inspiration and discussion on a variety of levels. I have found this book to be the most valuable addition to my library in a long time."

Joanne Alberda, Dort College, in Pro Rege
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CONTENTS

Preface

Foreword by Calvin Seerveld

Foreword by Graham Cray

Introduction

Part 1: Deconstructed, Disillusioned and Distrusted: Conflicting Influences on the Christian Artist
1. Art in a Post-modern Age
2. Art and the Quest for the Spiritual
3. Art and a Suspicious Church

Part 2: Garden, Serpent and Sacrifice: Returning to Primary Sources
4. Art and the Bible
5. Art and a Playful God
6. Art and a Fallen World
7. Art and the Possibility of Redemption

Part 3: Worldview, Worship and the Work of Art: Applying the Bible to Some Basic Art Issues
8. Art and an Integrated Worldview
9. Art as a Valid Christian Activity
10. Art as a Means of Worship
11. Art in Its Rightful Place

Part 4: Seeing, Weighing and Interpreting: Some Attempts at Definition and Pointers for Assessment
12. Art and a Way of Seeing
13. Art and Blurred Boundaries
14. Art and How It Works
15. Art and Interpretation

Part 5: Rooted, Respectful and Real: Some Ways Forward for Christians in the Arts
16. Art and New Technology
17. Art as Honest Labour
18. Art as a Proper Job
19. Art as a Twenty-first Century Calling

Notes

List of Illustrations

Further Reading

Useful Contacts

Index

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Hilary Brand is a British author and freelance photographer. Her books include the Lent courses, Christ and the Chocolaterie and The Power of Small Choices.
Chaplin teaches philosophical aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, Ontario.