Masland Library Blog

In the library this summer we waited breathlessly for a piece of art to be displayed. Maintenance came and prepped the walls, and we waited...finally while I was away on vacation it came. The piece is dramatic and huge measuring near 10 feet by 5 feet. It wasn't what I had expected, and from the vantage point of my desk it was quite distracting for the first week, a random blur of skin tones and black. Eventually it stopped being seen from the corner of my eye, making me look for a student or faculty member awaiting my assistance.

I believe the first time I saw the art work that my response was "Oh my". I wasn't sure what to do with it, it didn't fit in my protestant frame of reference. Religious art with Christ on the cross just wasn't part of my religious life. Luckily as my father was Catholic I knew how the Catholic and Orthodox traditions used religious art as part of their worship, but still it struck me as misplaced. And as a Librarian I do not deal well with misplaced items, they must be fixed or organized into something that I can process. After the piece had been up for about a month, I went to a friend's wedding, which was to be held at an Orthodox church. This in itself was a first for me, I have been to Catholic weddings, but never an Orthodox one. The art (icons) were everywhere as was the scent of incense; there was an atmosphere of worship and hushedness about the place. Now I am a very old-fashioned person, I love old churches where the pews are hard and the architecture of the church focuses your attention upward, and this Orthodox church did center your attention upward.

With our new artwork, I had to try and really view contemporary Christian art, not Thomas Kincaid or the Footsteps prints available at national Christian bookstores, but art that is a throw back to the classical masters. It makes you think, it strikes a cord with whatever experiences you have had; and it isn't safe.

Please join us on Friday after chapel to meet and chat with the artist of the Library's piece "One Body, One Church". Peter Jelinek will be in the Library lobby from 11 am to 12 pm for questions and dialogue. Stop by, drink some coffee and experience art.

~LAS

A couple of wonderful articles from Relevant Magazine on Art.

Art isn't suppose to be safe by Cole NeSmith. http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/deeper-walk/features/23211-art-isnt-supposed-to-be-safe

Why Art should matter to Christians by Melissa Kircher http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/worship/features/22942-why-art-should-matter-to-christians