J. Gordon Anderson - Contemporary Art

Today my wife and I went to the Charles Demuth studio and museum in Lancaster, PA. Demuth (1883-1935) was an American artist associated with the Precisionist school . I had never seen much of his art before, but it was interesting to see how similar in some respects my cityscape s are to his. Like many artists, Demuth was a rather unconventional character. He was homosexual and, after his father died, lived at home with his mom for most of his life. He painted most of his greatest works in the upstairs room of their house (now the museum). Unfortunately Demuth died an early death at age 50 due to diabetes. The museum was also hosting a show of work by the first generation American abstract impressionist artist Melville Price . Price was a friend and contemporary of Pollock, DeKooning, and others. Like many artists of that era, he created art for the WPA (Works Progress Administration), which was a New Deal initiative establish by Roosevelt. In terms of style his work could best be c...

Note: I have decided to delete this post since the link to the article is no longer working and since it has been revealed that J.I. Packer did not write it. JGA+

Not that my site is ready yet, or anything like that, but I do have a few pictures of some newer work - religious pieces - posted on there that you may wish to look at (just thumbnails are posted, though). I am currently only painting religious scenes. People who have followed my work over the years know that I have painted religious subject matter here and there (Annunciation, Purgatory, Hell, various Pietas, monks, priests, etc.) But it's always been a side thing... just "here and there", as I felt like it. Now it's my main thing. I suppose being a priest makes this type of subject matter even more important to me. Painting them sort of melds everything together. It's also a good way to meditate on the mystery being painted. Stylistically these works are more measured and subdued then my work from the last few years. I have been wanting to "empty out" my art, and make it a lot more quiet and simple. God, after all, is pure simplicity, and heaven is ete...

Being a priest is being an artist in way. The mass is so beautiful, so mysterious.... as Paul Claudel once said, the most beautiful and august gestures ever confided to man were done so in the mass. In the mass, space and time ceases, and heaven and earth unite... just like an artist when he is painting, or a musician, when he is performing... he is outside of himself, and becomes one with the act of creation, and one with god. So being at the same time a priest and artist is not that far off.

Here is a great article written by artist Maureen Mullarkey for Crisis Magazine. The Myth of Catholic Art: An Unmanifesto By Maureen Mullarkey Is there a uniquely Catholic approach to art? What is legitimate Catholic art? How can a Catholic make a significant difference in the artistic community? How should Catholics approach secular art? What might be included in a manifesto for Catholic artists? These questions are direct and compelling. They are also tricky to address because the assumptions behind them are complex and hidden. It would be better to shift attention from straitened definitions of Catholic art toward something more generous to the arts themselves and more useful to Catholics in the public square. But where to start with questions that lead ...

My personal art website is undergoing a major transformation, so please bear with me. I hope to have it up sometime before the new year. Developing a website is harder than people think. Not only must design and layout be taken into consideration, but also the purpose of the site (i.e. what does one hope to accomplish with his site).

The Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels has been much maligned by some traditionalists as being ugly and too "modern". While it is very different from a St. Patrick's Cathedral , or a Cathedral of Mary Our Queen , I wouldn't say it is completely ugly. Modern, yes; but ugly, no. Just because something is new doesn't mean it is ugly. Often people do not appreciate the art and architecture of their age. Only later generations come to find the beauty and poignancy that is in such works of art (e.g. the school of Impressionism). Sometimes I wonder if we who are more traditionally-minded in our faith are stuck in an artistic time warp. Did art and architecture reach its zenith in western Europe in the high middle ages? If so, what does one make of St. Peter's Basilica, or a Hagia Sophia? Are they ugly too? I think that before we pass judgment on new forms of art, architecture, music, liturgy, or what have you, we need to consider them in their larger cultural conte...

An artist must be willing to risk everything when creating a work or art. He must be willing to make that additional brush stroke, or draw that new line, or try that other color even though it may possibly ruin the entire work, or at the very least take it in a different direction than what he intended. No matter how far in advance a work is planned, there are always unknown elements, or unexpected surprises that arise, and which force us make a new decision on a color or element halfway through the painting. It is this very act that is so risky. What if it doesn't work? What if it throws something else off balance? What if it ruins the rest of the painting? But the artist must take the chance. If he doesn't the work will flounder, and he will always wonder, "What if I had done it?" At least for his own peace of mind he must take the chance. If the new element does ruin the art rather than help, it can sometimes be undone (if you are painting in oils). But many time...

I have decided to reintroduce my art blog. Welcome back, me.