visual art
The holy simplicity of artist John August Swanson
His art is like the man who created it: joyful, loving, and gently curious.
Bringing forth Lazarus from a blank canvas
“Life is built, and then it stops, and then Christ reaches in and brings it forward again.”
Alejandra Oliva’s devoted attention at the border
A student of mine went to Tijuana to help. She found she could help the most simply by paying attention.
Why don’t the Gospels describe Jesus’ appearance?
Joan Taylor's top-notch scholarship reads like a detective thriller.
When art comes to church
The annual ArtPrize competition in Grand Rapids brings artwork—and artists—into places of worship.
Nicodemus in the shadows
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks of dark and light—one of our most primary realities and symbols. How can this be vivid language today, when we can turn the switch and flood almost any place with light any time?
Faces of Jesus: Rembrandt and the incarnation
Rembrandt's meditations on Jesus' face reflect momentous
changes in his faith—and in how people of his time
envisioned Jesus.
ArtPrize's safe, non-provocative winner
Theologically, what does this piece of art evoke and why? To me, it suggests
the religious aesthetics of a self-satisfied people.