Newsletter No. 15 – January 2013

Christmas Exhibition: Incarnation

Wendy McTernan curated and organised an excellent commission4mission exhibition entitled ‘Incarnation’ at Wimbledon Library Gallery in December 2012. commission4mission's South London launch took place at a well attended Private View. We were encouraged by the interest shown by all who came both in the conversations that took place and in the works that were sold.

Those who came appreciated the look and feel of the show, our invigilators had several valuable conversations with those who came, we also made a number of new contacts and gained new members. Midnight Church by Elizabeth Duncan Meyer and Transforming Power by Caroline Richardson were amongst several works which sold. 

Those exhibiting included Harvey Bradley, Colin Burns, Christopher Clack, Ally Clarke, Valerie Dean, Elizabeth Duncan-Meyer, Jonathan Evens, Ken James, Sarah Ollerenshaw, Caroline Richardson, Janet Roberts, Francesca Ross, Henry Shelton, Sergiy Shkanov, Joy Rousell Stone and Peter Webb.
 

franciscan: The Gospel in Art

Three commission4mission members have written articles on the arts for the latest edition of franciscan, which is published three times a year by the First Order brothers and sisters and includes articles on Franciscan themes, as well as book reviews and news of the Society (http://www.franciscans.org.uk/franciscan-january-2013). 

The three articles are:

• ‘Facets of faith: the gospel in modern and contemporary art’ by Jonathan Evens
• ‘Father Andrew the artist: Plaistow friar, who never lost his boyhood enthusiasm for all things artistic’ by Steven Saxby
• ‘Re-imagining the gospels’ by Helen Gheorghiu Gould

The article by Jonathan features the work of Ally Clarke, Caroline Richardson and Sergiy Shkanov while Helen's piece includes interviews with Henry Shelton and Peter Webb. 

To order a copy of the magazine contact the subscriptions secretary using franciscansubscriptions@franciscans.org.uk. 

The Seed 

The Seed (http://seedresources.com/) has an expanding collection of over 40,000 resources to download and use throughout the Church year including Digital Worship resources and inspirational articles. The Seed and seedresources.com is a collaboration between the Leaders of Worship and Preachers Trust and Twelvebaskets Ltd. 

Among the available resources are two by commission4mission artists, both of which raise funds for c4m. They are:

• Mark of the Cross which features 20 poetic meditations by Jonathan Evens on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.
• The Passion: Reflections & Prayers: Pictures, poems and prayers by Henry Shelton and Jonathan Evens enabling us to follow Jesus on his journey to the cross reflecting both on the significance and the pain of that journey.

New publications

Christopher Clack and Jonathan Evens feature in a new Dutch book entitled Jezus voor ogen (Eyes on Jesus) with visual meditations and word & image Bible studies for Lent. The visual meditations included in the book have all featured previously on the ArtWay website (http://www.artway.eu/artway.php?lang=en) and include the meditation which Jonathan Evens wrote on Christopher Clack's Descent II.

Jonathan Evens' new book, The Secret Chord, is jointly authored with Peter Banks of After The Fire, and is an impassioned study of the role of music in cultural life written through the prism of Christian belief. A website for The Secret Chord (http://www.thesecretchord.co.uk/) has news, bios, additional links, comments and views. The Secret Chord is available in paperback as well as a Kindle book. 

Member Profile: Gillian Barritt

Gillian Barritt is a ceramics artist whose work is expressive and sculptural. Her work reflects her Christian faith as well as capturing a love of Cornwall where she lives and was born. Gillian incorporates words with clay pieces which include scripture and also poetry. She also has an interest in recycled media like sea china and glass.

Eyes on Jesus

Christopher Clack and Jonathan Evens feature in a new Dutch book entitled Jezus voor ogen (Eyes on Jesus) with visual meditations and word and image Bible studies for Lent. The visual meditations have all featured previously on the ArtWay website and include the meditation which Jonathan Evens wrote on Christopher Clack's Descent II.

Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker, who edited the book, writes:

"For us this book is a milestone that marks what ArtWay has been given to accomplish in the past two years. The book will hopefully function as a springboard to a new and broader audience, so that the website and its resources will be used by even more people and churches. We hope that an English version will be published next year.

In Jezus voor ogen the focus is on Jesus. While working on the book it struck me that images of Jesus can start to function as ‘models’ to us. In the book I expressed this as follows:

‘Jesus hangs on the cross as the image of the ideal human being. This is how humans are meant to be: full of love, obedient to the Father, willing to serve and suffer, resisting temptations, putting others above oneself. If we are honest, this is not really our idea of an ultimate hero. For this very reason it is of such great importance to keep on feeding ourselves with this and other images of Jesus. For deep inside of us live all kinds of other ideal images that drive us and that we bow to time and again, because they are our idols. Our ideal picture of our successful self: the slim figure, the imposing house, the fat car, the ideal partner, the golden job, the huge happiness. Christian art can replace these with new ideal images that can help us to become people of unified character: people whose inside corresponds with their outside, whose deeds rhyme with their words – people for whom Jesus on the cross is a source of inspiration for who they want to become and be.’"

'Mark of the Cross' update

This weekend ArtWay have circulated information about 'Mark of the Cross' to those on their mailing list. Look out too for an extract and image from 'Mark of the Cross' as their Ascension meditation following Ascension Day.

Jonathan Evens will be using the 'Mark of the Cross' meditations and images in the three hour devotion at St Margaret's Barking from 12 noon on Good Friday.

Mark of the Cross is a book of 20 poetic meditations on Christ’s journey to the cross and reactions to his resurrection and ascension. These meditations focus on the mark of the cross in his life and body and were originally written as part of a community arts project in Hertford. They are complemented by a set of semi-abstract watercolours of the Stations of the Cross and the Resurrection created by Henry Shelton.

'Mark of the Cross' is available via twelve baskets as a pdf book, a powerpoint presentation and as individual images. They are ideal for use within Lent, Passiontide, Holy Week and Easter services. The PowerPoint would work well with background music played whilst the viewers meditate on the imagery and words.

In a similar vein see the website of St Pauls Goodmayes for images from Henry Shelton's Stations of the Crown of Thorns, a c4m commission for the church, together with meditations by parish priest Fr. Benjamin Rutt-Field.

ArtWay Meditation

Jonathan Evens has written the ArtWay Visual Meditation for 9th October based on Descent II by Christopher Clack.

His meditation, which ends with the question 'What would be the impact, I wonder, were we more frequently to take religious images out of their religious context, as Clack has done, and trust them to raise their questions and reveal their meanings in other landscapes, cultures and worlds?', can be read by clicking here.

Descent II will feature in the next commission4mission exhibition to be held at the Tokarska Gallery from 1st - 31st December 2011 (Thursdays - Saturdays, 12 noon - 7.00pm). The next exhibition at the Tokarska Gallery is 4 Man Show from 14 - 29 October.

Also published today on the ArtWay site is an essay by Jonathan about the significance of the imagery of clowns in the life and work of Albert Houthuesen entitled 'The spirituality of the Artist-Clown.' 

RUN WITH THE FIRE: Call for Submissions

‘Run With The Fire’ is an arts project for the London 2012 Olympics organized by CANA, commission4mission and Veritasse based on the image of fire which links the Church’s Pentecost celebration with that of the Olympic runner.

The images that seeded this project come from the celebration of Pentecost, with its tongues of fire, new languages, and promise of dreams and visions, plus the Olympic games, with its running messenger carrying forward the burning torch and its dreams of cross cultural harmony. The vision of Pentecost, and also of the Olympics, is one of celebration and cross-cultural understanding. As a result, our title ’Run With The Fire’ emerged.

PROJECT

Artists and designers, selected to be part of the project, will begin by writing a statement to describe their vision of ’Running With The Fire’ for the other artists/designers involved. Each artist/designer will then create an artwork, using the idea of another artist/designer as a starting point. This aspect of the project simulates the idea of a relay, with ideas being passed from one artist/designer to the next.

Artists will make their work available electronically for use in the project, so that the mapping of ideas as they travel from one artist to another can become part of the final product. The resulting virtual exhibition will be available on DVD, for display on large scale HD TV or monitor, or for projection using a digital projector. This virtual exhibition of international artwork will be presented alongside arts events or exhibitions organized by local churches.

’Run With The Fire’ also aims to provide an electronic resource package, to accompany the virtual exhibition, which will give ideas for churches on how to organize and facilitate community arts events. These local events will enrich the experiences of those attending and will provide a context for the ’Run With The Fire’ exhibition in each venue.

Optimal exhibition spaces are churches, community centers, open air venues (with some covered space), local art galleries etc.

Once churches sign up to the event, they will need to pay £50 to cover the cost of the DVD and other materials. Any profit on the sale of resources will be donated to Oxfam. Churches will also bear the cost of actually putting on the ’Run With The Fire’ event, including venue hire, additional publicity and resources used at the community events.

INVITATION

You are invited to apply to join the project by submitting samples of your work (website link or e-mailed images in jpg format) and your CV (consisting of education, awards, solo and group show exhibition history) to Sue Newham at membership@veritasse.co.uk by 19th November 2010 at the latest.

All submissions will be considered by a jury/selection committee invited by the steering group which includes Dianne B. Collard (Director of Ministries - Europe for Artists in Christian Testimony International), Martin Crampin (Artist, researcher and designer), and Marleen Hengelaar-Rookmaaker (Editor-in-Chief of ArtWay). All entrants will be informed about selection by the end of January 2011. Successful applicants will then be asked to submit their completed artwork electronically by the start of August 2011.

Artists will be selected based on: submitted samples of their work (website link or e-mailed images in jpg format); their CV (consisting of education, awards, solo and group show exhibition history); and their geographical location (in order to have a genuinely international spread of artists).

Successful applicants are asked to make a firm commitment to complete their artwork by the August 2011 deadline. We are aware that unforeseen personal circumstances can make it impossible to fulfill a commitment at times, but we are keen that the integrity and impact of the project should not be jeopardized by a high drop-out rate. We ask every applicant to count the cost and time implications of involvement in this project, before submitting their name and work for inclusion.

STEERING COMMITTEE

Three arts groups with international connections (commission4mission, CANA and Veritasse) have come together to organize this project which celebrates creativity, cultural exchange and hope for the future. More information about these groups can be found at: http://cana-arts.blogspot.com/; http://commissionformission.blogspot.com/; and http://www.veritasse.co.uk/.