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89th out of 301 books
—
267 voters
State of the Arts
We cannot escape the arts. They permeate our lives and our culture--the decor, architecture, music, entertainment, everyday utensils. The imagination of this age, its ideas and concerns, percolate throughout the culture via the arts. These ideas affect us for good or for evil. The choice is not whether to live with art; we must choose whether to live with good art or bad a...more
Paperback, 256 pages
Published
April 1st 1991
by Crossway
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A must read for all Christians. For those who love art and know some about it, and for those who doesn't care about it -maybe they would start caring a little bit more afterwards-. We cannot remain neutral in the way we appreciate art, and Veith does a great job in explaining this.
""Christianity is not a vague cosmic optimism, a utopian vision of everyone loving one another, a formula for success and happiness, or even a belief in a benevolent deity. It is rather the scandal of Christ Crucified....more
""Christianity is not a vague cosmic optimism, a utopian vision of everyone loving one another, a formula for success and happiness, or even a belief in a benevolent deity. It is rather the scandal of Christ Crucified....more
Gene Edward Veith's hostility to the art world runs through this book like a greased pig. Written shortly after the Mapplethorpe / Serrano flap in the late '80s, the nostrils of Christian communities were still flaring. I guess they didn't like their tax dollars paying for photograph depicting a dude with bullwhip in his ass. Who knows? But this text is a knee-jerk reaction to these controversies disguised as one of those "world view" books for Christian kids packing for college.
Vieth's knowled...more
Vieth's knowled...more
I really liked this book. Challenging the reader to think more deeply and clearly about art, Veith is evenhanded and biblical in his analysis. God is the Artist and He created man in His image. We are responsible to create for his glory but are not limited to "religious art" in our expression. It is a stirring reminder to christians to not abandon the arts or artists and a call to patronize good art.
Lays a solid foundational understanding for the role of the arts in the life of the world, the church, and in the individual lives of God's people. A must-read for Christians laboring in the visual arts.
Art is big enough to incorporate all forms of creative expression. Unfortunately, it also holds up a mirror to our devolving culture.
Veith is a great thinker and has a lot of good things to say as usual. Always a bit more philosophical that other Christian writers, I appreciate his style and his attention to competing worldviews (and here, denominations even). Art is all around us, whether it be music, literature, clothing, decorating, or gallery art. Yet few have put much time into thinking about it as Veith has. This book, while speaking mostly about gallery art, applies to all these other areas in a helpful way. It has hel...more
I found this book helpful in understanding the arts from a christian perspective.
Read and reread time and again. This is very helpful - very Shaeferesque.
Really insightful review of art and its relationship with culture.
Excellent
Very good.
twas good
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Gene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God...more
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