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featuring works by Mitchell Bond, Patrick
Ellis, Jane Engle, Lee Fewell, April 3 - May 26, 2000 Curator's Statement Since the beginning of the Center for the Arts and Religion, over 15 years ago, the arts have become a central presence at Wesley Theological Seminary. With paintings and sculptures in every corridor and office, visitors and prospective students know immediately that this is a special place, a place in which the Word is understood to encompass much more than words. Because of this, over the years the Seminary has attracted many artists who wish to deepen their religious understanding through specific study of Bible, church history, systematic theology, and other disciplines which make up a theological education. Some came first as Artists-in-Residence; others came to take a class or two, or to attend an event; and some stayed on to complete a degree.
Deborah Sokolove
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The artists who created the works of art shown here own the
copyrights to them. send comments or questions about the gallery to
the curator at: |
WTS
Graduates Retrospective
At the same
time, the Seminary's commitment to understanding art as a
fundamental component of theological education has opened the
eyes and hearts of many who came here with no previous calling
towards the arts. The pervasive presence of not only visual art,
but also music, drama, dance, and literature in classrooms,
chapel, and other venues, has encouraged some students to try
their own hands and eyes and ears and very selves in exploring
art as a medium of theological expression. After leaving Wesley,
some of these Graduates continued to develop their creative
gifts, eventually finding that they, too, are artists.
Our records and
memories tell us of some Graduates who were artists while they
were students here, and we are aware of a few others have found
their artistic vision in the intervening time. This exhibition
showcases some of those graduates who work in paint and fabric
and glass and other visual media, but we don't know who else
might be painting or sculpting or quilting or weaving or working
in whatever medium best expresses what they have to say. We hope
that this show will encourage other WTS Graduates to let us know
about their artistic endeavors.
As curator, I
have had the privilege of selecting the works, and deciding where
each should be displayed. In the process, I have had to pay
attention to what each one was saying, to the varied voices of
twelve artists with very different visions. In this conversation,
some voices are loud and strident, while others are more muted,
more subtle. As you encounter each of them, I hope that you will
enter the dialogue, finding God's own Word in the interplay of
color and line, shape and form, image and idea.