Storying Through Art
“O Lord, our God, how excellent is your name in all the earth!” Psalm 8
I learned Psalm 8 when I was 5 years old and can still remember the awe I felt (though at the time, I did not know that the emotion I felt was awe). When I am caught in the throes of a work of art that transports me to places of deep joy, I often think of this Psalm, and imagine the Psalmist’s emotional high as he proclaimed, “O Lord, our God, how excellent is your name in all the earth!” God, the artist created this cosmological masterpiece that we call the universe and loaned it to us unspoiled.
When the Psalmist crafted his statement about God’s majesty, he may have just read the creation account and sketched a visual of this beauty that left him lost for words that he began and ended the Psalm with the same words! This chiastic style of writing includes a sense of awe that God would include us humans into this work of art.
Whether paintings, sculptures, music, graffiti, jewelry, literature, poetry, or other forms, art can impact the psyche, evoking strong emotions and influencing our thoughts and behaviors. Studies have shown that viewing art can lower cortisol levels, a hormone associated with stress, and increase dopamine and endorphins, which are associated with pleasure and happiness. Art can also be a tool for social change, raising awareness about social issues and promoting social justice. Take graffiti as an example. Graffiti started out as a beautiful expression of cries for freedom from oppression. Graffiti has been given a bad rap (no intended pun) by the dominant culture - the oppressors. Graffiti is therefore not considered 'fine art' because it is wild, uncontrolled, boldly beautiful, and refusing to be muted for the satisfaction of the greedy. The artists who create this artform may very well get priced out from accessing it once the dominant culture devises a plan to make money from it. Lord, have mercy.
It is important to recognize that art can also have
negative effects on the psyche. Certain images or themes in art can trigger
trauma or negative emotions, and that exposure to violent or disturbing content can contribute to desensitization and aggression - such as confederate artifacts on public display. Lord, still have mercy.
A few years ago, I travelled with a group to England on a Wesley heritage pilgrimage. One of the stops was at the museum located right next to Rev. John Wesley’s house in London. In the museum, I saw a bible labeled as the one that Sophia Campbell preached from there in Antigua. Sophia Campbell is the enslaved woman who took over the preaching and teaching when her enslaver fell sick on arrival on the island. My emotions were stirred because I had learned much about her in Sunday School. When we walked into the chapel, and I saw the flag of Antigua and Barbuda, my memory transported me to the another of my Sunday School classes where I learned about the history of Methodism in the Caribbean and how it started in Antigua with Sophia Campbell as preacher. While I was still in that place, the leader of the group called me over to the baptismal font where I saw for the first time, a stone that my grandmother told me about. It was a stone upon which enslaved people in Antigua at Gilbert Estate had carved a circle of broken chains signifying their understanding of Christology. Staring at what for me and the people called Methodists in Antigua was more than a simple piece of art, I became undone. I was face to face with God’s art! There I stood, covered in the stories of those who carved that stone.
God’s art is seen in the expressions of humans who
create pieces that tell God’s story of liberation. God’s art is seen in you and
in me. The Psalmist got it right… “How excellent is God’s name in all the
earth!”
In the comments, let's talk about:
your moments of awe
how you see art
how you are an artist
#art #artandgod #artandthebible #readingthebiblefromthemargins
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