J. Gordon Anderson - Contemporary Art

Finally, an art-religion related story that is worth reading! Maybe we Anglicans need some images like this in our parishes. Check out the story here .

I have decided that need to overhaul how I update my art website. Keeping that thing current and looking halfway decent (at best) is tons of work. It takes away gobs of time from painting and promoting my art. But it has to be done, as it is the best way of promoting my work. I only have so much time to devote to keeping that dinosaur updated, so I have to do it in the most time effective manner possible. The problem is that I don't know how to do it. Maybe my wife can offer some suggestions as to how to streamline the process. Being an artist is not easy. A lot of people think it is only about creating the work, but there is so much more that you have to do. You have to conceive the work, do studies and prep, buy supplies, create it, photograph it, store it, promote it, schlep it around to shows, maintain websites, and on, and on, and on. Each of those steps have a million little steps involved in them. Promoting your work and trying to get shows, for example, is incredibly time c...

The Anglican Way Institute is holding a summer conference on the theme of Finding Grace Through the Sacraments . It will be held July 2nd - 6th at the Church of the Holy Communion (REC) in Dallas, TX. This conference is especially geared towards college and career aged Anglicans, but anyone who wants to learn more about orthodox Anglicanism is encouraged to attend. I strongly encourage young people to attend this conference if at all possible! www.anglicanwayinstitute.org

No, I am not referring my own mental outlook, but rather Plato's opinion as to why art is a waste of time and energy. Plato did not have a very high view of art generally speaking (e.g. poets and actors were to be banned from the Republic on moral grounds). But he did have a broad theory on beauty and art, and the arts did have a place - albeit a very limited one (mainly educational) - in society. To Plato, art is essentially imitative. When we paint trees, or people, we are painting a copy of a copy (hence the "two removes from truth"). If one is interested in seeking and knowing the truth, then why spend time copying copies of forms? Truth is to be known in forms. Interesting theory, but whether or not it is a waste of time to devote one's life to making copies of copies is a matter of opinion! Aristotle's more positive view of art is right up my alley. As in most ways, Aristotle tempers and tweaks his teacher's theories. Not believing in transcendental con...

For anyone interested, this is the place to go to buy traditional art supplies on the web. It is where I get all of my pigments, gessos, gold leaf, and more.

I am commenting on my old blog once again. It is just plain easier to comment on Anglican/theological topics on that blog and art/cultural related topics on this one.

Many people think that contemporary and traditional art and architecture cannot be successfully mixed. They think that a church, for example, has to be either completely contemporary (e.g. the Matisse Chapel ), or completely traditional (e.g. St. Clement's ). But that is really not the case. There are many prominent examples of churches that mix both styles, such as the National Cathedral , and Metz Cathedral (Metz, France). In both of these, very modern looking stained glass looks right at home in the midst of the soaring Gothic arches and beautiful carved wood. I had the great privilege of seeing the Marc Chagall windows in Metz firsthand several years back while working in Europe. They fit in with the rest of the building and its art beautifully. Therefore, before writing off the use of contemporary visual artistic forms in church, take a look around you, and see if there are not already modernistic elements in use that you are quite comfortable with and used to, and that loo...