Beauty

beautyThe concept of beauty in relation to theology and the arts is a slippery one. While sometimes a definition eludes, at other times it can be disregarded or over-stated. And yet, I remember sitting in a performance of Handel’s Messiah last Christmas when the beauty of the words, music, and space converged to the point where my breath was taken away. Is beauty something we aspire to or, as Eric Gill suggests, do we pursue truth and goodness and trust beauty to look after herself? [1] There is something about beauty that brings us back to it, compelling us to try and understand what it is, how it can be discerned, and its relationship to the divine.

During the week of April 22, 2013, Transpositions hosted a symposium on beauty. Together with a great line-up of contributors, we  wrestled with beauty’s theological place in various spheres of human life and activity: Christian theology, contemporary culture, art-making, and the Church. Posts ranged from the provocative to the reflective, and we hope that they will stimulate discussion and lead to furthered collective understanding.

Monday, 22 April: ‘Jeremy Begbie on Beauty’ – Prof Jeremy Begbie, current director of Duke’s Initiatives in Theology and the Arts, kicks off the week with a helpful sketch of the rise of beauty’s popularity in the theology and the arts discussion. He then questions the relationship between art and beauty and suggests beauty’s place in Christian theology.

Tuesday, 23 April: ‘Engaging Contemporary Culture with the Beauty of Jesus’ – Transpositions‘ own Somer Salomon continues the discussion by considering the role of beauty in engaging with the contemporary, post-modern world.

Wednesday, 24 April: ‘Finding Beauty through the Practice of Creating: an Artist’s Reflection’ – Reflecting on his own art-making and interacting with his own work, visual artist TJ Walsh suggests how beauty is found in the process of creation.

Thursday, 25 April: ‘Worship and Identity: the Role of Beauty in the Church’ – Poet, academic, and Christian apologist Dr Holly Ordway compels us to think about how beauty informs and shapes our worship of God and communion with the Church.

Friday, 26 April: ‘Reviews: Theological Aesthetics, Bridge to Wonder, and Arts of Wonder’ – The week concludes with Christopher R. Brewer’s review of three books about beauty, providing a stepping-stone for further research and discovery.

 

[1] Eric Gill, Beauty Looks After Herself: Essays by Eric Gill (London: Sheed & Ward, 1933).

The photo, “beauty”, is copyright (c) 2008 sanberdoo and made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

 

Author

  • Jim Watkins is the assistant editor and a regular contributor at Transpositions. Originally, Jim is from southern California and southeastern Texas, but sometimes he feels most at home in the landscape and coffee shops of the Pacific Northwest. He met his wife Emily at Wheaton College in Illinois, where he studied Studio Art (concentration in painting). For his PhD research, he is examining the relationship between divine and human creativity from the perspective of divine kenosis.