Tolle Lege

“What, exactly, is ‘Christian art’?”

Bethany Mills ’10 poses this thoughtful question in her article, “Of Mystery and the Invisible: Understanding the Christian Artist.” As its title suggests, the piece explores the relationship between an artist’s faith and the work he or she produces. Countering the common characterization of Christian art as work containing only “explicitly Biblical subjects” (18), Mills identifies the influence of faith in the abstract paintings of Ben Frank Moss, Dartmouth Studio Art Professor and devoted Christian. In examining and interpreting his works, Mills offers a new definition of Christian art, describing it as art produced with the intent of seeking God and reflecting his vast creative power in “small acts of creation” (22). Mills concludes by emphasizing the importance of the “process of creation,” rather than the outcome, to the Christian artist pursuing God in his or her work (22).

One of Moss’ paintings

This discussion of art and faith continued yesterday morning during the Creative Arts panel of the Wheelock Conference. As a panelist, Moss himself confirmed many of the sentiments expressed in Mills’ article, emphasizing the indirect expression of faith through abstract art, as well as a “process” over “product” attitude. Pensive and soft-spoken, Moss carefully articulated components of his own creative process that reflect his faith. He sees his studio as a “sacred sanctuary” that carries an atmosphere of peace and reverence. It is here that he faces the sheer terror of a blank white canvas, and begins to blend a vast array of colors into arresting images reminiscent of landscapes and the natural world. Because Moss does not plan his paintings in advance, every moment of creation presses towards discovery of a greater, more beautiful, unknown. To Moss, painting is an act of communion with something beyond him. It comes as no surprise, then, that viewers have described his paintings as depicting “prayers.” Though acknowledging that no man has seen God, Moss described his work as an attempt to “pull back the curtain” and reveal some small piece of the beauty of the face of God.

Rather than expressing the themes currently popular in the art world, “the cynical” and “the ironic,” Moss yesterday stated that he paints what “preoccupies” him – light and life. Some have criticized his work as anachronistic, but its deviation from today’s common artwork gives it a unique flavor. Ultimately by remaining true to his purposes as a Christian artist – seeking and reflecting on God – Moss’s work is personal and affecting, a clear fruit of his “stillness and wonder” towards God. Moss’ relationship with God permeates his work as both an expression of self and a pursuit of the divine, revealing him as an important example of what it means to be both a Christian and an artist.

Mills, Bethany. “Of Mystery and the Invisible: Understanding the Christian Artist” The Dartmouth Apologia 3.1 (2009): 18-22. Print.