Archbishop Burke, back in town for business and a quick holiday visit to family, opened the conference with great depth and simplicity by reminding us that we are all in statu viae. “Every pilgrimage is a return to the Source of beauty, truth and all love,” said the genius of canon law, speaking more like a mystic than an ecclesial supreme judge. He set the tone for the day, reminding us that–as I quoted a friend in a previous entry–the fine arts were born on the altar, and the renewal of sacred liturgy, spaces and ultimately, culture, will end and begin in Christ, our Eucharistic Love.

Denis McNamara is the Jonah Goldberg of Church Architecture. He’s every bit the architectural historian and bow tie sporting professor, but wields a wryness and common sensical dialect all-too-uncommon in churchy intellectuals. This makes him a great teacher and made him a fabulous key note speaker for the Art & Architecture Conference, and certainly good for a couple of laughs. The motivation in his grad studies wasn’t an ethereal encounter with an antique edifice, but simply people asking him at parties, “Why is my church so ugly?”

People have known intuitively for years that en vogue architecture–especially within ecclesial settings–wasn’t….well, quite right. In fact, they sensed it was just plain wrong. What has happened, McNamara says, is that architecture, which has a language, and can be read, has been misread for years, and it seems in contemporary architecture, that language has been forgotten altogether. In its place has emerged a sort of polished neanderthal grunting. In going “forward” with no reference to universal principals, we’ve regressed. Modern architecture is egotistical and centripetal, while classical architecture in a church is meant to be centrifugal, but not just pointing out, but pointing Up, an image of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

In short, we always go forward (Philippians 3:13), but we build upon transcendent truths, including architectural truths, giving our vote to the “democracy of the dead,” the wisdom of the past in all humility. I met an architect in the not too recent past, a proud creator of what Duncan Stroik calls “prayer barns,” and as he explained his multi-purpose church, he *actually* compared his innovation in design to that of Raphael and Michelangelo. While we are all artworks of the Creator in progress, I thought it tremendously  ironic that said architect should even utter so vain a thought. It is a privilege to build a temple for the Lord, and a calling, and any artist should give thanks for their gifts and avocation, laying their natural and supernatural gifts at the foot of the altar and before the wisdom of the masters in order to bear fruit. It’s only when we do this, whether literally or figuratively, that true beauty comes forth. Anything less is the mark of the unoriginality of sin, and an icon of evil.

There was really so much packed into his talk to fit in into one entry, and the other speakers were quite good as well. Stay tuned for a full article.

Finally, nothing can speak so well as participating in the Liturgy and praying a walk through the gorgeous shrine as well. You must go, and if you cannot go, visit the Shrine web site.

Happy Christmas, and all the lovely feasts of Christmastide!

JS

The parish of Our Savior Catholic Center at the University of Southern California is soliciting interest and artists’ portfolios for the numerous works of sacred art to be commissioned for the new church and student center. Interested artists are invited to visit the project website for information regarding the architectural project, the artistic vision, the scope of works to be commissioned, and the submission requirements.

Being as jaded about  California Liturgical Art as I am (I lived there), I hesitated before posting this. (See World’s Ugliest Buildings.) However, this following rendering was encouraging:

Slightly less encouraging is the removal of the tabernacle from the altar, and placing it in the apse. The apse is better than, say, a super hidden side chapel, but the tabernacle should be where all good Christians are: front and center and ready to take up one’s cross.

They are clearly not looking for anything ultra post-modern, but I am confused about this statement:

We are not looking for any dry, academic mimicry of historical styles. On the one hand, we are looking to renew the narrative figurative tradition, respectful of the Christian iconographic tradition of symbols and conventions which has expressed the Catholic faith across the millennia.

I wonder what (or who) they would consider “dry, academic mimicry of historical styles.” Mimicry is a strong word, and I wonder they would consider an architectural ventriloquist? Very confusing. What do you think?

Do read the article. It’s not a sound bite, hyper-summarized, bite size chunk of cultural niceties and theoretic sentamentalism, so don’t expect something that the average Facebook user would read and dig. It’s probably not something your average artsy fartsy person would dig either. Average, I said. It’s edgy, and a little (wee) bit long, but it’s worth the perseverance. So read it. It might offend you, and that’s okay I say. Truth offends. If we had more people willing to offend the Church we’d be in a much different place in respect to many things today.

Favorite quotes:
“A nearly universal response to contemporary art today–one that impressively transverses race, creed age, or class–is ‘What?’”

“The decades to follow gave us conceptual art, landscape art, performance art, outsider’s art, found art, and (most revealingly perhaps) auto-destructive art.”

“The cult of celebrity–with its exorbitant votive prices–drives the art world today, leaving envy and resentment in its wake: a convocation of belligerent eagles.”

“We are waiting not for a Godot, but for another–doubtless very different–St. Benedict.” And lo, our Benedict has come.” [Props to Matt for the B16 reference--check his flickr account for his pics from the April Pope visit]

 

Fr. RJ Neuhaus is quoted as saying, that Dappled Things is “trolling for talent,” and providing a forum for the emerging artist, a literary landscape, plotted and pieced. Writers and other fine artists may be interested in submitting work for future issues. Whilst the next deadline is oh-so-close (Oct 14th), take a look a their submission guidelines here. 

With all the pied beauty of fall leaves upon the still-green grass, comes the “Mary, Queen of Angels 2007″ edition of Dappled Things, now available online. The new issue is brimming over with wonderful essays, stories, poems, and works of art by talented young writers and artists working within the

 Catholic tradition. We invite you to explore the new issue and then head over to our forums to share your thoughts with other readers.

Herewith a sampling of the marvelous pieces you will find in our “Mary, Queen of Angels 2007″ edition:

- Following the September implementation date of Pope Benedict’s much talked-about motu proprio, comes Philip Carl Smith’s  “The Monastery, the Motu Proprio, and the Heart of the Church,”  a personal meditation on the importance of liturgy for the Church’s life:

Dom Antoine Forgeot, the abbot of Notre Dame de Fontgombault, greeted me upon my arrival at the monastery by pouring water on my hands before the evening meal, welcoming me as if I were Christ. Fontgombault, founded in the eleventh century, has had an immense influence on the religious life of France and the United States since its reestablishment in 1948 by the Benedictines of Solesmes, and it is now an important center of Gregorian chant. For several days this past summer I received the hospitality of the monks, attending the singing of the Divine Office and participating in the solemn conventual Mass chanted each day according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII—a form of the Mass also known as the usus antiquior or the Tridentine Mass.

- The main character in Eve Tushnet’s “Distortions” struggles with questions as applicable to a distopian world as to our own:

And that’s how my thing is all over. Crumpled up, crippled. Like a glob with deep wrinkles, almost folds or fissures, covered with lanugo, and a thing like a face on one end. You can definitely see the noseholes and the mouth, and you can tell where the eyes should be, but either they aren’t there or they’re gummed shut. I’m not really interested in that part; what I’m supposed to be investigating are the flippers and the wings. I don’t like these ones, the very large malformations. They’re part of the reason I want to move into a more administrative or research-design position, rather than directly carrying out the work.

- Author Eleanor Bourg Donlon treats us to a second installment of her developing Magdalen Montague saga in “The Flight from Magdalen Montague” :

I found the girl on the street, as one does. Down by the Danube. I glanced into the ugly green depths of the river and thought of filth. And then I looked up and saw her. A miserable object, but well suited to my purpose. Blonde, with straggling hair, and small, dull eyes. Rather like that girl in Vienna. Do you remember her? She wept when we left, but I think it was because she had wanted more money.

- Poet Gabriel Olearnik ponders the end of times in “An English Apocalypse” :

Death, War, Famine
and the other member of the band
(you know the one, his name escapes me)
Will run amok in Camden market
And overturn three stalls of leather goods
And upset some arrangements
Of ersatz Gucci handbags.

- Pope John Paul II’s theology of the body has much to say about relations between the sexes, but what is its connection to social justice? Catherine Rose explores this question in “Social Justice and the Theology of the Body”:

Secular governing bodies have their particular roles in the temporal sphere. But they cannot substitute the work of the Church, who addresses the needs of the whole person, including the ultimate transcendent need. It is an impoverishment for Catholic charitable organizations to discount or deny their spiritual ministry.

- Our featured article for this issue explores the nature of art and beauty through the work of 20th century Catholic painter Carl Schmitt in a profound essay written by his son, historian Carl Schmitt, Jr.:

Artistic beauty is only possible because of the Incarnation. In this world, we cannot see God’s supreme beauty: We can only find our way to it through the light of faith. Through the Incarnation, we may now experience God in this world through our own discovery of the beauty in people and things.

Visit our website (www.dappledthings.org) to enjoy these works and many more. Spread the Word!

One of my favorite DIY magazines, Ready Made Magazine, has a contest listed on their web page:

cause/affect is a biennial graphic design competition which celebrates the work of designers and organizations who set out to positively impact our society and communities.

All work entered in the competition must promote or support social good and actively engage in enriching our lives. It can raise awareness about a cause or condition. It can celebrate an arts institution or event [emphasis mine]. All we ask is that it doesn’t contribute directly to the profit of a commercial organization.

This is a competition for do-gooders, who do good work. And it is open to all.

entry deadline: 11.9.07

So, check it: are you creative and have you been looking for something to light a fire under your creative-patutti? Here’s the opportunity!

It’s official: Grassroots Films is coming to Madison to premiere their first feature film, “The Human Experience,” a docu-drama about meaning, life, joys and sufferings–the gift that is discovered by experience in the journey.

Synopsis:

From Grassroots Films of Brooklyn, New York comes THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE– the story of a band of brothers who travel the world in search of the answers to the burning questions: Who am I? Who is Man? What is the meaning of life? Their journey brings them into the middle of the lives of the homeless on the streets of New York City, the orphans and disabled children of Peru, and the abandoned lepers in the forests of Ghana. What the young men discover changes them forever. They are captivated by the joyand love that they encounter; they are awakened to the beauty of the human person and the resilience of the human spirit. Along with one on one interviews with experts and amateurs from all walks of life, THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE weaves both commentary and drama into a deep reflection on what it means to be human. 

Tuesday, November 6th 7pm 

Madison Museum of Contemporary Art Lecture Hall downtown

This event is free (!) but a free will offering will be taken up to offset the costs of screening it at a lux location. Seat reservation for the 230 seats is first come, first serve online. This should be set up by the end of the week.

If you would love to be involved with this event, either by promoting it (email, putting up posters), praying for the fruits or with a donation, email Jessica at ruahfellowship@gmail.com.

Note to Vocations Directors: High school and college are great, but this is where we really need to beef up our vocations evangelization–children under twelve. Well done, National Office of Vocation for England and Wales! Cheers, Fr. Embry, with whom I interviewed once to work there. (Got the job, but decided not to go–long story.)