Creation & RE-Creation

Twice a year, Redeemer Arts hosts a 7 week art & theology series called In the Living Room. It’s a fail-safe recipe:art, faith, wine & cheese in a Manhattan apartment. But God continues to exceed my expectations when 20 artists from varying disciplines come together to explore how the gospel transforms their callings and their work.

This past Tuesday was the second week in our winter session of the Living Room in which we theologically re-imagine the identity and work of artists as a reflection of the image of their creator God. The buzz words for the evening were creation [aligning the work of artists with the meta-narrative of the cosmos, creation, fall & redemption] and re-creation [describing how artists can join God’s work of renewing humanity and creation].

I was very encouraged to receive the following reflection from one of the attendees, a visual artist, about her new found perspective on engaging the creative process in light of God’s renewing work in the world. Or as she put put it…

We were challenged by the concept that our art is a context that God uses to renew us.

"It is so easy to get caught up in the need to show art, to have an audience, to communicate a message, that we can easily forget that God is working on us and changing us through it as well. But when asked how we can know what work God is doing in us through our art, our small group came to a surprising realization..."

We don’t fully understand what God has done in us until a piece of work is shown to others and they speak back to us about it.

"…When the creative process is just between the artist and God--we are inspired as we respond, feeling the deep satisfaction and focus of being present in the calling… But it was suggested that the process is not complete."

...It is not really art until it is shared in community.

"There is kind of covenantal relationship that can exist between the artist and audience. The artist commits to faithfully, thoughtfully, and carefully share a vision as a vessel of the inspiration; and the audience commits to receive it thoughtfully and carefully and to give back their new understanding and inspiration. This reciprocation of the audience further enlightens the artist and inspires new art to be shared again. It’s a continual three-way dance between the Lord, the artist, and the audience. Art cannot be created merely to please an audience but it is incomplete without being shared with the community.When this paradox is held in balance, the beauty of our work will multiply exponentially!"

I personally hate showing my work.

"It is an incredibly vulnerable place to be and there is a mixture of pride, shame, and fear that holds me back. But I think that an attitude of humble confidence–knowing I am approved by God because of the gospel–would make showing my work much easier. It would relinquish the need for self-glorification. Until my work is shown, I am still “pregnant” with it in some sense. Finally letting it out would bring a new lightness and freedom. It doesn’t matter what people’s reactions are… both criticism and praise can roll of my back if my eyes are fixed on God, my heart trusting his approval of me because of Jesus."

--a painter, age 27. In the Living Room, Winter Session 2012. Redeemer Arts Ministries New York, NY

If you're seeking fellowship and dialogue about how your art & faith are meant to be in constant conversation, flowing out of a holistic experience of your life and calling in the city, visit faithandwork.org/arts to find out more about Redeemer's Arts Vocation Groups, InterArts Fellowship and In the Living Room.

-Kenyon