Sunday, July 13, 2008

What I'm Reading....


...Art in Service of the Sacred by Catherine Kapikian. Kapikian is the director of the Henry Luce III Center for the Arts and Religion at Wesley Theological Seminary and I have long been an admirer of her work. A DVD is included in the book with wonderful visuals to use while reading the text.
The book jacket promotes this wonderful work with this: "Art in Service of the Sacred encourages congregations to take seriously the role of visual art in worship and in the broader life of the church. This rich resource explores the dynamics between art, artist, and the church. It proclaims the power of art when used as art, reclaims the presence of religious symbols in worship, asserts the importance of the aesthetic dimensions of ecclesial space, and recovers the role of visual art to engage our senses and imaginations as we seek to encounter God in our lives."
I couldn't put this book down when it arrived and have gone back through it with several times sense. It is recommended as a vital resource for the artist/church relationship. Enjoy!