Theology and Hospitality in the Work of Theaster Gates
The book argues that the projects of Chicago artist Theaster Gates are theological sites, places to encounter God and his truth concerning place, people, and things. By exploring Gates's practices, attention is drawn to God's own work of care, reconciliation, and vivification. Hence, Gates' hospitality points to God's hospitality.
Does the Devil lie at the heart of the creative process? In The Devil as Muse, Fred Parker offers an entirely fresh reflection on the age-old question, echoing William Blake's famous statement: "the true poet is of the Devil's party." Expertly examining three literary interpretations of the Devil and his influence upon the artist--Milton's Satan ......
It is often difficult to describe beauty or even justify attempts to experience something beautiful. Yet if artists-whether painters or poets, actors or musicians, architects or sculptors-teach us anything, it is that the pursuit of beauty is a common feature among all humanity. As Cecilia Gonzalez-Andrieu contends, these varied experiences with ......
Eight brilliant and original American thinkers - Edwards, Franklin, John Adams, Emerson, Peirce, William James, Dewey, and Santayana - are the subject of this widely admired book by one of America's foremost writers of intellectual history. In this study, the author finds a degree of continuity and some elements of underlying unity in the varied ......
In the wake of controversies over printing or displaying images of the Prophet Muhammad, Christiane Gruber's aim is to bring back into scholarly and public discussion the 'lost' history of imagining the Prophet in Islamic cultures. By studying the various verbal and visual constructions of the Prophet's character and persona over the course of ......
Contemporary Christians interact with art very differently than Christians of centuries past. Christian art was never intended for mere enjoyment, but was used to express the most important features of Christian faith and to suggest models for Christian practices. In TheArt of Christian Reflection , art historian Heidi Hornik reconnects art to ......
The sacred ethos of the American Dream has become a central pillar of American civil religion. The belief that meaning is fashioned from some mixture of family, friends, a stable career, and financial security permeates American culture. Profane Parables examines three films that assault this venerated American myth. Fight Club (1999), American ......
The Art of Empire contends that the art and imagery of Late Antiquity requires a deeper understanding of the context of the imperial period before and after Constantine. The chapters treat an aspect of the relationship between early Christian art and the rituals, practices, or imagery of the Empire.
Bruce W. Longenecker presents a variety of material artifacts to illustrate that Christians made use of the cross as a visual symbol of their faith long before Constantine appropriated it to consolidate his power in the fourth century. The cross served as a visual symbol of commitment to a living deity in a dangerous world.