Bad art and the tortured beauty of the cross

Something to ponder over your next KitKat break:

Three Americans (and one big bow tie) discuss why Christians seem to sanitise our groaning creation rather than producing work that truly connects and accords with the fallen reality around us.




What struck a cord while watching this discussion, in line with what we were also discussing at the recent Interface gathering in London, was their engagement with the reality of what we read in the Scriptures.  The temptation to anaesthetise the world around us violates the very fabric of literature within the Bible that exposes the ugly nature of man's heart and rebellion against God: just take a look at the cries of the psalmists, the lamenting Job and the hideous scenes that litter the pages of Judges.

Andrew Jones, our speaker at Interface London this month encouraged us to get unbelievers to judge our work, rather than our Christian friends.  Why? Because more often than not, they seem to be producing work that really does accord with the real questions that we all face. Do you agree?  As Christians are we creating work that truly resonates with the rawness that people feel? Are we creating work that presents the 'tension' of being in a broken world?

Kinkade: Christmas cottage

Anyway, listening to these guys discuss the likes of kinkade (most successful commercial artist in America) and what truly makes a work of art resonate with our experiences, is well worth a listen over your next coffee break.