Wednesday, September 21, 2005

Painting in Picasso's home town

So, I'm kinda in awe. I'll be taking a painting class in the town Picasso was born. The class is down the street from the Picasso Museum, and Picasso Foundation. You should see the building - I just want to photograph every part of it, it's so ridiculously fun and typically Spanish.

Now before I jump into dreams of my own art career grandeur - I need to remember I'm even doing this because my boss had me look for a ministry outside where I work, MMC. (Read the full post on this here).

So it turns out the act of simply painting - not just what you paint can be powerful - or we'll see. I'll keep you guys posted on this class. I start October 7th. I have a list of things to get just like college - kinda cool.

Jeannie, where are you with your painting? Mark what are you up to? Let's just make this a conversation place! Forget polished articles, etc. We are not such polished people - or at least not me. I love Jeannie's name, work in progress. So true!

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Bada Bing

Yo,

it's me chiming in on this hot, mighty blog! So i've to confess, I haven't been the most commited blogger. It's cool though, I'm satisfied to be blogging sparsily. I think I might just jump on the podcast band wagon, too. Anyone else interested?

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

mediums and messages

I've been reading a book by Marshall McLuhan, "Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man" and it's really made my mind spin. But the one thing that really has me freaked out is the concept, which is the book's first chapter, "the medium is the message." Ironically, you would think that someone such as myself who has graduate from a college of Media Arts would have heard of this before, but I hadn't. Or at least, I don't remember it. I'm sure it probably came up here and there in lectures, but it has never stuck with me. So the concept has really turned my mind nearly upside down.

This sudden jolt in my way of thinking feels like I've turned around in the middle of a marathon to start over, simply because I couldn't remember if I heard the starting gun go off. Furthermore, I'm still a little lost on my bearings and probably won't find them as I'm only half way through this book. What a quandary.

So I've been thinking how to put this concept to pratical use in art. Suggestions?

Friday, April 15, 2005

An issue of culture

Now, we haven't specified which culture we'd be talking about on this blog. I figured, it'd be our own North American - I mean, what other culture is there, right?

Hmm...I'm afraid you're going to have to let me break away from my own assumption, selfishness, and arrogance (and perhaps yours too). Two weeks from today I'll return to Spain and my immersion in the 'mission world' which is a subculture of the 'christian world'. I'll probably be writing about things outside America's borders, things that won't be as fluent or familiar to me and you. Up for it?

To start, have you seen or heard of Christian video projects such as "The Jesus Film" or "The God Story"? I had before, and always thought, "Oh sure, they're the cheesy films that tell the story of the Gospel. Right, well I've seen them more and more as I've been in mission circles, and I still think they are cheesy. There is a huge jump to films of the same genre we are more familiar with like Mel Gibson's Passion.

Simply put, the Jesus Film and God's story are not hot news for us. We dismiss them, or at best sympathetically watch. Yawn

Reading a recent blog entry by Tod Bolsinger (don't know much about him, I just added his RSS feed to my list), he jolted the pieces together for me: these films are not for us. Did you catch that?

I've met staff working on the God Story (they're based down in LA area), and I wasn't about to tell them what I thought of their film (to tell the absolute truth, I haven't even seen the whole thing, just bits and pieces.) They were an enthusiastic bunch that traveled the world. There was even a connection - the media center where I work in Spain is helping them dub a new translation. This was one of those things in the mission field that because of my "newbie" status, I was keeping my thoughts to myself. Perhaps there was something I wasn't getting...

Turns out I was right. I haven't seen these videos 'in action' in places like Malawi, Africa. There, they become astounding and powerful in their cultural relevance. When 2,000 people turn up to watch a screening, you know you've hit a nerve.

Here's an expert from Tod Bolsinger's entry about the experience:

Then the strangest thing happened: When Jesus appeared on screen the crowd cheered.  When he healed someone, they roared their approval.  When Jesus entered Jerusalem on the back of a donkey, they yelled as if they were part of the original palm waving crowd.  When a Pharisee confronted Jesus, the crowd would boo and shout out their disapproval and when Jesus was arrested they protested.  As I stood on the field with these villagers, I realized that in a very real way, they were hearing the gospel the way it is supposed to be heard—as a story that demands our response. 

Oh man, I feel lame. Have I become so caught up in visual standards of my own culture that I've missed a chance to share Christ? Jesus had only words, stick in the sand, bread and wine, and ultimately the cross, as visuals for those around him. I need to stop looking down my nose, and start encouraging efforts like these. They are making an impact.

As we strive to keep things in perspective, I'm convinced God can use our fluency in fast paced American culture to share the story with our peers. But how can we present it in a way that would provoke a response worthy of what our Malawi friends have shown us? Have we lost track of the story and/or its power? -DM

Friday, April 08, 2005

Review: Constantine

Here is a review I wrote of the film Constantine.

Constantine, in the most basic sense, is an “angels and demons” movie set in a dark, present-day Los Angeles. This film is a cross pollination of the genres of Horror, Action/Adventure, Drama and the Super Hero movie.

Keanu Reeves stars as John Constantine, a weary-eyed and cynical man who walks the streets of L.A. in a dark metaphorical Limbo. With the paranormal ability to confront and see the supernatural, John works as a self employed spiritual cop, punishing misbehaved supernatural creatures who walk the earth—a realm the film tells us is susceptible to the influence of heavenly and devilish forces, but is not controlled by them. During the film, we squeamishly get to witness John at work as he performs exorcisms, wrestles with demonic manifestations on the street, and clairvoyantly travels to the upper levels of hell.

While battling baddies, John has the help of the archetypal sidekick, damsel in distress, and an assortment of themed weapons and gadgets à la James Bond or Batman (which makes sense, since I heard that this movie was based on a comic book). I found the multiple uses for holy water particularly interesting. I also found that the juxtaposition of seriousness and cheesy jokes gave the film a fun quality, despite its darker subject matter. Sure, this film had all the special effects and well-timed plot turns to be an entertaining action film in the same fashion as The Matrix or X-men, but for me, it was the personal story of John Constantine that kept me interested.

Constantine’s personal journey is mysterious, laced with a dark past and an uncertain future. His bleak predicament and bitter outlook on life had me pulling for him as the hero, wanting to see him gain purpose and motivation. The transformation he goes through is touching; for the more sentimental of us, there is even a bit of a love story to enjoy. Amidst the gritty presentation, and the grandiose and heavy-handed religious hinge-points, I found most surprising the underlying story about redemption and self-sacrifice.

So, is this film anything new? No. Does this film accurately portray what I believe about God or Christianity? Not exactly. But its creative re-packaging of the classic hero story and mindfulness of what good and evil forces can do in this world make it worth seeing. I will warn however, that if you are easily frightened, or avoid horror films, like I usually do, watch it with a trusted friend.

My rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

Enjoy the show!

Light Art... Suggestions?

Last night I was at The Door and we were having silent meditation and prayer when my mind started to wander into the realm of art projects... I started thinking about how I want to incorporate light into the next thing I work on. I envisioned large collages, on thick deep canvases where there are tiny holes cut in the surface for light to shine through from behind. I could rig up some white christmas lights behind there, or even mount a wall light behind it. Has anyone seen any larger mixed media 2-D works that incorporate light? I also don't want to start a fire if I am using various papers. Thoughts? Suggestions?

Thursday, April 07, 2005

On the Radar 1.1

Ever wonder what fourty days of fasting in the desert would look like - cartoon style? Check out Si Smith's image/day of Jesus' "time away from it all." -MT

Blogger Andrew Hears of Panopticist puts it best: "Patriotism: The Last Refuge of Bad Christian Musicians?" I kept asking myself if this song/video "America, We Stand As One" was serious or a spoof. See for yourself. -DM

Forget stealing art - sneak yours in. Well known graffiti artist Banksy hangs his art in New York's top museums. - MT

I Did It!

Hey, I actually posted something. I'm pretty proud. This is going to be great. My brain is swirling with ideas, so get ready.

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

Launch

So here it is. The beginning of something new. Let's try to get the kinks worked out as soon as possible. Formatting, color schemes and all that.