Issue #178 | September 16, 2009

Features
Registration Is Open for Image Seminar in O'ahu with Kathleen Norris
My Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John Updike
Nurse Jackie on Showtime
David Bazan: Curse Your Branches
Performing the Sacred by Dale Savidge and Todd E. Johnson

Gallery Watch
Kathy Thaden: The Visit
Phil Irish Exhibit: Watershed
Self Absorbed at Seattle Pacific University

Message Board
Honoring Our Ancestors: An Art & Movement Retreat
Workshop: The Art of Faith
"So a Magician, a Blonde and a Donkey Walk into a Bar..."
Our Visual Legacy Conference

ImageNews
Image Readings: Lauren Winner
Now Available: Bearing the Mystery: Twenty Years of IMAGE
Subscribe to Image in Print

Features

Registration Is Open for Image Seminar in O'ahu with Kathleen Norris

You are cordially invited to spend a long weekend with poet and spiritual writer Kathleen Norris and the staff of Image in Honolulu, Hawaii, February 18-22, 2010. Registration is open now, and complete information and brochures are available at our website. Space is limited, so register early to ensure your spot. In the tradition of Image’s Florence Seminar, this event will bring a small group of inquirers together for a time of reflection, conversation, and personal enrichment. Our theme will be “The Habit of Attention: Renewing the Heart in an Age of Acedia.” Acedia is the ancient term for spiritual indifference and the subject of Kathleen’s latest book, Acedia & Me. In it, Kathleen, who grew up in Honolulu and returned with her ailing husband, David, chronicles her struggle with acedia after his death. As she began to investigate the meaning of her experience, going back to the works of the desert mothers and fathers and medieval monks, Kathleen realized how pervasive this malady is, and how deeply it permeates our culture of distraction. During our time together on O'ahu, we’ll take on the issue of acedia as both a personal and a cultural challenge. We will delve into the ways art and faith can move us beyond the distractions of media hype and pop culture and reawaken us to the world. In addition to Kathleen’s talks and readings, we’ll head out to explore the natural beauty of O'ahu and share a number of wonderful meals together.

To register, get more information, or request a brochure by mail, visit here. Find more on this special event here. Please contact Dyana Herron by email (dherron@imagejournal.org) or phone (206.281.2988).

My Father’s Tears and Other Stories by John Updike

John Updike composed all of the stories in My Father’s Tears, with the exception of the first, in the last eight years of his life. Together, they make a fitting valediction. The collection turns around the experience of looking back at one’s past, knowing that it is complete and unchangeable, ready to be gazed at and assessed. The characters in these stories are classic Updike men: they have cheated on their wives and run out on their families. Now they are too old to misbehave, but not to remember. Few of these men rue the mistakes of their youth—only David (Kern, from Updike’s 1961 story “Pigeon Feathers”) displays regret. Now attending his fiftieth high school reunion, David wishes he had pursued an adolescent flirtation gone unrecalled for decades. There is no sadness or self-pity here. Each man, in his way, is simply wide-eyed and astonished at the “mystery of his own transient existence,” wanting only to ask, “what does it mean, this enormity of our having been children and now being old, living next door to death?” As Updike’s protagonists could never resist temptation in youth, neither can they once-and-for-all stamp down faith with atheistic certainty—even now, when it is more than just a matter of philosophical curiosity. After visiting a dying friend, and seeing how her faith gives her strength, David muses that in contrast, in the university town where he lives, “an unresisted atheism left people to suffer with the mute, recessive stoicism of animals.” Updike’s artistic eye is as keen here as it has ever been. His descriptions are carefully and lovingly observed, meticulously rendered, flawless. There is no doubt that he loves his subjects, and, even this late in the game, believes they matter. The final sentence of “The Full Glass,” which ends the book, is as good a way as any to characterize this collection: “If I can read this strange old guy’s mind aright, he’s drinking a toast to the visible world, his impending disappearance from it be damned.”

Click here to buy the book.

Nurse Jackie on Showtime

Showtime has a new series you may have seen advertised, starring Edie Falco, formerly of The Sopranos. It’s called Nurse Jackie and it is already off to a great start. Here’s the set-up: there’s this emergency room nurse who’s tough, quietly kind, and fiercely devoted to her vocation. But she also does Percocet and OxyContin and Vicodin on the job for her bad back and stress levels, while having an affair with the hospital pharmacist. She takes a long subway ride home (after double shifts) to her hunky husband and two sweet daughters. The hospital she works at is clearly Catholic; there’s a corridor leading to the chapel that has a statue of Raphael’s transfigured Christ at the end of the hallway. Sisters of Charity seem to process down those halls in random gaggles; you see them out of focus in the background of many shots. Saints Jane Frances de Chantal and Augustine (not to mention T.S. Eliot) are quoted in the first episode. Nurse Jackie is clearly both a saint and a sinner, but she has a brutal job that strains her humanity to the limits in so very many ways. Of course, if you are put off by a protagonist who indulges in sex and drugs, this is not a show for you. But the creators of the series seem to want Jackie’s sins to be a screen for what they’re really interested in: her love and compassion. (Without those sins of the flesh Jackie might come off as insufferably good.) It’s true that the show may not break new ground—it operates in that tragicomic space carved out by recent series like Rescue Me—but we think it is well done. If you like that sort of thing. The first season is airing again on Showtime starting October 2, at 8:00pm Fridays.

Read Ann Conway’s “Good Letters” blog post about Nurse Jackie here.

David Bazan: Curse Your Branches

In his first solo album, David Bazan, the front man of the now defunct indie rock band Pedro the Lion, chronicles his disillusionment with prescriptive Christianity and his religious heritage, writing songs fraught with themes of addiction, sin, truth, doubt and damnation. Like a man who has finally uncorked a souring bottle of wine, Bazan pursues the ambiguities and disappointments of faith and personal behavior. The first song, “Hard to Be”, is skeptical of the doctrine of original sin, the “magical explanation” for death, with “wait just a minute / you expect me to believe / that all this misbehaving / grew from one enchanted tree...” In the song for which the album is named, Bazan sings as if he is shaking his fist at God: “all fallen leaves should curse their branches / for not letting them decide / where they should fall.” Bazan is the man that in “Little Sparks,” a Sunday School-esque campfire song, is “tempted to question his birthright” and who “clung to miracles / I have not seen” in “Bearing Witness”. He uses familiar Christian vocabulary in his lyrics, phrases like “bearing witness” and the altar call-like “please take a moment,” but he’s not beyond throwing a few Herman Melville references into the mix. Bazan’s fleshy, mellow voice is accompanied by an often bright and bluesy backing of synthesizers, steel guitars and tambourine, sprinkled with chimes and sleigh bells, contradicting his serious theological wrestling. Bazan’s songs, with simple lyrics and melody, employ a deadpan musical honesty in addressing his disbelief and his resiliency despite the collapse of his faith. Though referring to addiction, Bazan’s lyrics on the last track “In Stitches,” “my fingers find the stitches / firmly back and forth they run,” are fitting to his approach to his faith. The album ends almost as it begins, with a solo piano exploring dissonance like a child waggles a loose tooth, as Bazan prods his attachment to a vanquished divine Captain.

To buy the album, click here.

Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue by Dale Savidge and Todd E. Johnson

In Performing the Sacred: Theology and Theatre in Dialogue, Dale Savidge and Todd E. Johnson document the complicated relationship between theater and Christianity from the medieval European period to today. The two authors are informed by very different backgrounds and approaches: Savidge is an industry man, a playwright and former director who now runs a theater consulting agency and is also executive director and founding member of Christians in the Theatre Arts; Johnson is an academic, an associate professor of worship, theology and arts at Fuller Seminary who writes largely on liturgy—but the two men dialogue easily, examining their many sources with scholars’ eyes. Alternating chapters, the authors bounce ideas and themes off each other. Both see the relationship between Christianity and the stage not as a love-hate or hot-and-cold one, but as more complex, spanning centuries and theological divides. They catalogue attitudes toward drama on the part of the church, from deeply suspicious to enthusiastic, delving into the texts of Plato and Augustine and following the rebirth of theater in the Middle Ages with miracle and morality plays. This art form, they show us, can be an illuminating and transformative encounter with God and other believers. In later chapters, Johnson assesses the role of theater in a virtual world and asks how it fits into a world ruled by spectacle, and Savidge contemplates what it means to be a playwright, an actor, and an audience member, while also identifying oneself as Christian. The essays are heavily researched, revealing both a love for drama in all its forms and a deep appreciation for its history and community-making power.

To buy the book, click here.

Gallery Watch

Kathy Thaden: The Visit

Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC presents the Contemporary Mosaic Art 2009 exhibition, open now until October 23 and featuring Kathy Thaden’s The Visit as Best in Show. As a mosaic artist, Kathy Thaden is inspired to work with Christian symbols, icons and other religious imagery. Thaden’s mosaics range from abstract sculptures and contemporary crosses to liturgical wall hangings and commissioned works. A member of the Society of American Mosaic Artists and the Episcopal Church & Visual Arts, Thaden is also a founding member of the Colorado Mosaic Artists. Read more about the exhibit here and here.

Phil Irish Exhibit: Watershed

Lennox Contemporary in Toronto presents Watershed, an exhibition of paintings by Canadian artist Phil Irish. The paintings detail the transformation and renewal of persons in relation to their evolving physical environment. Irish imbeds annotated maps—hand drawn by friends and strangers—in the paintings to explore the intersecting points of view of individuals living along the Grand River watershed. The show runs September 3 through September 20 with a public reception on September 3 from 6-9. For more information on this series, click here.

Self Absorbed at Seattle Pacific University

This autumn the Seattle Pacific Art Center Gallery, located on the campus of Seattle Pacific University, will present Self Absorbed, an exhibition of contemporary self-portraiture. The exhibition is contemplative in nature, and will feature works that explore issues of identity, purpose and self-image. What is the “self”? How do we find personal meaning? How are we shaped by environment, genetics, traditions and social expectations? Self Absorbed opens September 28 and closes November 9. A reception will be held Friday, October 2 from 7:00-9:00pm. The SPAC Gallery is located at 3 West Cremona, Seattle, WA, 98119. Gallery hours are 9:00-5:00 Monday-Friday. For more information, contact Cheri Wilke.

Message Board
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Honoring Our Ancestors: An Art & Movement Retreat

The Christian feasts of All Saints and All Souls, historically coinciding with the Celtic feast of Samhain, honor the profound legacy our ancestors have left to us and mark the beginning of the dark half of the year. Ritual, poetry, art-making, song, and dance will be our tools to grow in awareness of those who walked the earth before us and to listen for the wisdom they offer to our own life circumstances. We will celebrate the coming of the fruitful darkness when the seeds of new beginnings are planted. The retreat will run October 29 - November 1, 2009 at St. Andrew’s Retreat House on beautiful Hood Canal, WA. Early registration discounts are available before September 20, 2009. Visit here for more, or email Christine.

Our Visual Legacy at St. Andrew's Mt. Pleasant

In cooperation with CIVA and the Washington Arts Group, Our Visual Legacy, a conference on the visual arts, will be presented by the Worship Arts Ministry of St. Andrew’s in Mt. Pleasant, SC, September 17 – 19. Our Visual Legacy (OVL) is an event designed specifically to encourage and strengthen artists of faith and explore ways that the community of faith can support these artists as they work out their calling and integrate the arts into worship and mission. We will contextualize today’s artist and the state of the arts today within the history of our visual legacy, speak into the issues and movements of our current situation, and explore ways to move forward as artists and as the church. Therefore, visual artists, any artists, art enthusiasts and patrons, as well as church leaders are encouraged to attend. The conference will include workshops, art exhibits, worship, renowned speakers including James Romaine, Ed Knippers, and Sandra Bowden, and more. To learn about specific classes offered, or to register, click here.

Workshop: The Art of Faith

Join authors and retreat leaders Beth Booram (Picturing the Face of Jesus) and Brent Bill (Sacred Compass) at the The Art of Faith on Saturday, October 3, 2009, from 9:00am - 3:00 pm at Trinity Church, 6151 N. Central, Indianapolis, IN. This is a workshop where participants experience the divine in ways that are sensory and participatory, using various artistic media to help them encounter God. The content and presentations are highly creative, utilizing artistic elements, contemplative exercises, and engaging interaction. The registration fee of $35 includes all sessions, snacks, and lunch. To register or get more information, visit here.

"So a Magician, a Blonde and a Donkey Walk into a Bar..."

Join the Richard Hugo House Cabaret in Seattle on Thursday, October 1, 2009, 7:30 PM for a reading with three West Coast poets. Nicole Hardy, Marjorie Manwaring, and Sally Ashton will read work that explores the mythical and spiritual dimensions of archetypes that include the blonde, the magician, the donkey, the circus freak, and the virgin, as well as cultural icons ranging from the Mud Flap Girl to Bat Boy to Shakespeare’s Bottom. A Q&A session and book signing will follow the reading. For more details, email info@mmanwaring.com. Directions to Richard Hugo House at 1634 11th Ave in Seattle are here.

ImageNews — The Scoop on Our Programs

Image Readings: Lauren Winner

A combination of Southern charisma and savvy New York intellect, Lauren Winner is like her books: brainy and sophisticated and at the same time utterly charming. Winner renders the Christian tradition with reverence and deep affection, shedding light onto some of the more obscure corners of Christian spirituality and enriching our understanding of the familiar with the unfamiliar. Winner's discussion is more informal dialogue than it is theological analysis--but it is rich. She blends years of scholarly research with her own fresh storytelling, making her books as accessible as they are smart. Her authenticity will win your heart.

Click here to listen to an excerpt of Girl Meets God, recorded at the 2009 Glen Workshop.

Now Available: Bearing the Mystery: Twenty Years of IMAGE

In the two decades since it began publication, Image journal has not only emerged as one of North America's leading quarterlies, but has also carved out a unique identity as the source for contemporary art and literature that grapple with the perennial questions of religious faith. We are thrilled to announce that Bearing the Mystery, a hardcover anthology of the best that has appeared in the pages of Image for the past 20 years, has just been published by Eerdmans. Bearing the Mystery brings together in one handsome volume the best fiction, poetry, essays, and visual art from Image's first twenty years - the work of nearly seventy writers and twenty visual artists (represented in sixteen glorious color plates). With contributions from the likes of Annie Dillard, Kathleen Norris, Ron Hansen, Wim Wenders, and Denise Levertov, and with a special introduction by founder and editor Gregory Wolfe that meditates on the journal's mission, Bearing the Mystery is indeed a treasure-hoard. In fact, Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Professor of Theology at Duke University, calls Image journal “one of the brightest beacons of hope among those who care about the intersection of art and faith,” and says “Bearing the Mystery offers us the cream of years of wisdom and witness: this is a volume to be treasured.” This book is a wonderful addition to the personal collection of any Image lover and is perfect as a gift. You can further support the journal by buying the book directly from our website.

To own your copy, click here.

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