ImageUpdate’s Top Ten of 2007
With all of the books, films, CDs, and visual art featured in this e-newsletter, we know there’s much to choose from each year. Hence our gift to you just in time for Christmas: a list of Image’s top ten picks of 2007. In chronological order of appearance, here are ten of the works we’ve featured in ImageUpdate this past year that stand out to us (and many of which would make fine gifts). This is an admittedly subjective list—these are personal favorites. We’ve deliberately selected a number of things that aren’t that well known: after all, you already know about the well-known works! At any rate, if you’d like to read the original ImageUpdate feature on any of the works, click on the links provided. We hope you’ll enjoy this list and that you will find time to spend in the company of the many gifted writers, artists, musicians, and filmmakers we have featured in ImageUpdate this year. Merry Christmas to you and yours from all of us at Image.

Greg Wolfe, Mary Kenagy, Julie Mullins, Beth Bevis, and our tireless interns

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr
Sara Zarr’s Story of a Girl—which was nominated for the National Book Award—is one of a new breed of young adult novels that embrace a sort of dark realism: troubled families, money problems, sex, drugs, chilly parents, abuse, unwanted pregnancy, longing, and insecurity. Zarr, who developed her novel at Image’s Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, writes with craft and economy, creating characters that are unusual and appealing, familiar enough to be intelligible, but always a few interesting degrees off of stereotype. More...

It was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, 2nd Ed.
If you are looking for a single-volume collection of essays by contemporary artists and critics about the relationship between art and faith, this is the book you want to have. The first edition was published in 2000 and featured essays such as “Form and Content” by Mako Fujimura, “Identity” by Theodore Prescott, “Creativity” by James Romaine, and “Imagination” by Image editor Gregory Wolfe. The expanded and improved edition includes new essays by the likes of Adrienne Chaplin, Mary McCleary, Dale Savidge, and Roger Feldman, accompanied by full-color reproductions of art throughout the book—itself worth the cover price. More...

Bible Road by Sam Fentress
An architectural photographer, Fentress has traveled across forty-nine states to record the various ways in which religious belief is conveyed to passersby on American roads. The range of emotions and attitudes Fentress has captured give the lie to the notion that the only form of roadside art is the apocalyptic or moralistic admonition. He has found plenty of those, such as the words painted on a stone (“Obey God or Burn”). But he has also discovered humor, pathos, desperation, and love. Fentress has a gift for framing each sign, allowing us to see it in a larger context, whether that involves a gritty urban streetscape or stark plains with enormous, looming skies. More...

Rickie Lee Jones – The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard
The Sermon on Exposition Boulevard was inspired by The Words, a modern rendering of Christ’s words translated by Jones’s friend, Lee Cantelon. Originally intended to be a spoken word album set to music, the album morphed into a stellar performance that bears comparison to the best of Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, Julie Miller, Van Morrison, and Victoria Williams. Shifting seamlessly between pop songs, beautiful meditations, and the experimental and improvised, the songs aim for the heart of both the gospel and the listener. More...

How to Paint the Savior Dead by Jason Gray
In his fine chapbook, How to Paint the Savior Dead, Jason Gray meditates on how art (both the great and not-so-great) works to knit together the beautiful and ordinary in us. These poems often begin with the viewer standing before a painting or relic, exposed and listening. It’s in that patient attention that the painted figure or anonymous Pietá stirs the imagination, reviving the ancient contentions of light and dark, ecstasy and pain. More...

The Maytrees by Annie Dillard
Although Annie Dillard’s The Maytrees explores themes of grace, aging, and nature, it is best characterized as an unabashed love story. Undaunted by the long line of love stories that have scoured the genre of its obvious metaphors, Dillard encounters the mystery of love with a handful of surprising and poetic images, from Aztec priests to sinking ships, in this, her latest novel. More...

Sarah Hall: True North Wind Tower
This year, Regent College in Vancouver, B.C. unveiled the True North wind tower with Lux Nova art glass. Combining state of the art technology with the stained glass of artist Sarah Hall, this is the first stained glass installation in North America to utilize solar cells. Designed by architect Clive Grout, the wind tower provides ventilation for the underground library while symbolizing the school’s commitment to sustainability. The stained glass by Sarah Hall includes twelve dichroic crosses, the Lord’s Prayer in Aramaic, and solar cells that will store energy to light the public plaza at night. More...

The Lives of Others
Set in Germany in 1984, The Lives of Others is a political thriller depicting life in a pre-Glasnost East Berlin. As the film begins, Gerd Weisler, a member of the secret police, is assigned to investigate renowned playwright, Georg Dreyman and his partner, actress Christa-Maria Sieland. Through a series of unsettling events, Weisler’s encounter with the lives of the other characters propels the plot forward to its sad and ultimately redemptive end. The Lives of Others won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007 and is now available on DVD. More...

God With Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas
God with Us: Rediscovering the Meaning of Christmas is a rich tapestry of a book, containing meditations for the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany by some of the leading spiritual writers of our time, including Eugene Peterson, Kathleen Norris, Luci Shaw, Scott Cairns, Richard John Neuhaus, and Emilie Griffin. Co-edited by Image editor Gregory Wolfe and board member Greg Pennoyer, God With Us also contains references for the daily scripture readings, original prayers, and brief histories of the major feast days, and is sumptuously illustrated in full color with masterworks of classic and contemporary art. More...

In A New Light: Spirituality and the Media Arts by Ron Austin
In his book In a New Light, screenwriter and “Hollywood contemplative” Ron Austin distills his insights into the nature of the creative process, particularly in the realm of the “media arts.” In a New Light draws on the thought of Rene Girard to outline a number of key spiritual principles, such as “being in the present moment,” “affirming the mystery of the other,” and “transforming conflict.” There is even “A Brief Spiritual History of Film,” which covers some of the great auteurs from Chaplin and Renoir through Bresson and Bergman to Scorsese and Kieslowski. More...

The Spiritual Art of Salvador Dalí
Salvador Dalí, a household name for his well-known surrealist paintings, also produced works of deep spiritual significance in his lifetime. And now two important collections of these works are drawn together for the first time in their entirety in William Bennett Gallery’s new exhibit, The Spiritual Art of Salvador Dalí. The works on display include Salvador Dalí’s five-volume Biblia Sacra, featuring the complete 105 original lithographs illustrating the Holy Bible which were published in 1969 by Rizzoli Editions, Milan, Italy. The Biblia Sacra was originally commissioned by one of Dalí’s leading patrons, who was, according to the gallery's website, “determined to redeem what he felt were Dalí’s wayward views by leading him back towards the Catholic Church by using the Holy Bible.” The resulting works bring Dalí’s innovative technique (he invented a method called “bulletism” in which he shot loaded ink capsules at a canvas and worked with the unpredictable results), along with his characteristic exploration of the human subconscious and the imagination, to bear on the words and stories of the Bible. The second collection is the complete six-volume, 100 lithographs of Dalí’s illustrations of Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy published by Editions d’Art les Heures Claires. The original illustrations, done in watercolor, have been reproduced using a wood engraving technique. William Bennett Gallery is located in New York City. The exhibit runs through January 9, 2008.

For more information, click here.

Charlotte Lindsey: Reminders of Strength and Beauty
Charlotte Lindsey says that her artwork is “an exploration of personal metaphors… reminders of events, realizations or truths learned from my journey.” The carved book assemblages now on display in the exhibit Reminders of Strength and Beauty are hints and guesses at such truths, like obscure maps employing ancient symbols. Using old books and Polaroid transfer images as a starting point, Lindsey carves her pieces and imbeds them with objects found in nature, especially stones and branches. Because the assemblages are three-dimensional, shadow and light are important components. Set against the backdrop of words on the pages of old books or mysterious images in the photographs, the natural elements point to a simple but veiled beauty in nature and in personal history. Reminders of Strength and Beauty is on display at the Visual Art League Gallery in Lewisville, Texas through January 19, 2008. There will be an artist talk at 7 p.m. on January 8.

For more information, click here or see the artist’s website.

If you have information other ImageUpdate readers might find interesting, share it here! Do you have a question that you hope a member of the ImageUpdate community might have the answer to? Ask it here. Have your messages posted by sending an email to gwolfe@spu.edu.

Advent Blog
Artist Jan Richardson has created a blog especially for Advent. It's part of an attempt to cultivate a contemplative space in these days, which tend to go by in a fairly frenzied fashion. Visit the blog, The Advent Door, here [LINK: http://theadventdoor.com].

The Other Journal Call for Submissions
The Other Journal (TOJ) seeks creative writing and visual or performance art that encounters life through the lens of theology and culture. In Issue #11, TOJ seeks imaginative work that thoughtfully considers the relationships between belief, superstition, doubt, and science. We are especially interested in work that explores these themes in the context of atheism or Christianity. We welcome poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction. Fiction may include short stories or self-contained novel excerpts, and creative nonfiction may include personal essays or memoirs. We also welcome films, paintings, prints, photography, music, and sculptures. Please send submissions to submissions@theotherjournal.com by February 21, 2008. For more information about the issue, click here.

This section lists ongoing exhibits and events that have been featured in previous issues of ImageUpdate. Click on the links for more information.

Special Offer: Subscribe to Image and Receive Snow Angels
As Over the Rhine, husband and wife duo Karin Bergquist and Linford Detweiler have run the gamut of musical styles in their formidable career, from R&B to Americana and folk to jazz and cabaret. And since they appreciate great writing, Karin and Linford want their fans to subscribe to Image... and we want our readers to listen to Over the Rhine. Subscribe now—or give a gift subscription—and receive a free copy of their Christmas album Snow Angels as a special gift from Over the Rhine. The eclectic Snow Angels includes a gorgeous new carol of reconciliation and hope, “White Horse,” the wry, steamy “North Pole Man,” and everything in between.

This offer is good only with internet orders for new personal subscriptions and gift subscriptions, and is available only while supplies last. Many thanks to Over the Rhine for their perpetual generosity.

The Image Annual Appeal Letter: Help us Transgress Boundaries
Tis the season for fund drives, and this is our version of a little red kettle and tinkly bell. In all seriousness, we’ve got a great story to tell this year—check out our appeal letter to read about Sara Zarr’s journey from the Glen Workshop to the National Book Awards. We’re mighty proud to be a part of her story. It’s one example of the many ways Image has helped artists and writers of faith over the years to keep on keeping on, breaking rules by refusing to be confined to the label “Christian Artist,” and making their work about honesty and excellence first. Your help will enable us to carry on the work that we’ve started. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution today. As a small, lean, tightly run ship, every dollar you give makes a big difference, be it $35, $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or more.

You can give right now by clicking here and donating over our secure server. Or, if you prefer to give by mail, just send Gregory Wolfe an e-mail at gwolfe@spu.edu with your mailing address and we'll send you a print version of this letter, a response card, and an envelope.

Want to Work for Image This Summer?
Are you an undergraduate or graduate student who'd like to work for Image this coming summer? Or do you know someone who might be interested? The purpose of the Luci Shaw Fellowship is to expose a promising student to the world of literary publishing and introduce him or her to the contemporary dialogue about art and faith that surrounds Image, its programs, its contributors, and its peer organizations. In short, we're looking for summer fellows who share our vision for the place art has in the life of faith, and who are also diligent, meticulous, and responsible about the daily details. There's grunt work galore in this job, but also plenty of opportunities to grasp the vision at the heart of a dynamic arts organization. The Shaw Fellow will also receive a scholarship to Image's Glen Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

To learn more about the Luci Shaw Fellowship, and to download an application, click here.