James Romaine, Part 2: The Art of Sandra Bowden & NYCAMS

Today I'm concluding my interview with Dr. James Romaine, a New York based art historian. He is the co-founder of the New York Center for Arts and Media Studies (NYCAMS), a program of Bethel University. He has an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College in economics and art history, an MA in art history from the University of South Carolina, and a PhD in art history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. He is a frequent lecturer on faith and the visual arts and has authored numerous articles which have appeared in Art Journal of the College Art Association, American Arts Quarterly, Christian History & Biography, Re:Generation Quarterly, The Princeton Theological Review, Image: A Journal of Arts and Religion, It was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, and Faith and Vision: Twenty-Five Years of Christians in the Visual Arts. His books include Objects of Grace: Conversations on Creativity and Faith and The Art of Sandra Bowden, both published by Square Halo Books. Dr. Romaine is on the board of directors of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA).

LeAnne: Let's discuss The Art of Sandra Bowden. How did that book come about? 

James: The Art of Sandra Bowden developed out of an opportunity that presented itself because Sandra was having a retrospective of forty years of work and was nearing the conclusion of her tenure of service as president of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA). The Art of Sandra Bowden is a testament to Sandra's faithfulness to her art and to God. When Sandra committed herself to being an artist of faith, she did not know any other Christians in the visual arts. Forty years later, I have students who cannot imagine that sort of situation. They have grown up in homes, churches, and schools that provide them with opportunities to intimately connect their faith and art. For artists of Sandra's generation, there was always a question of, "Can you be a Christian and an artist?" When I was a student, the question was, "How can I be a Christian and an artist, in a philosophical sense?" Today, there's a sense of, "Let's get to it. How can I be a part of this art world?"

Sometimes, when things change as much as they have for artists of faith in the past forty years, we take these changes for granted. Artists of faith emerging today owe an immeasurable debt to artists like Sandra and there should be a historical record of her work so that we don't forget where we have come from and how God has blessed us through her.

LM: You are an Assistant Professor of Art History with NYCAMS. What are two or three things that you want your students to have learned when they leave your classroom?

JR: The New York Center for Art and Media Studies (NYCAMS) is a semester studio program that provides undergraduate art majors from across the United States and Europe with the opportunity of working in New York. As an art historian, I teach two classroom-based classes. I say "classroom-based" because I try to get out of the classroom, to galleries, museums, and artists' studios as much as possible. These two classes are "The History of Christianity and Art" and "Contemporary Art". In both classes, I hope to 1) provide students with tools, such as visual literacy and an understanding of the creative process, that they can employ in their studio work and 2) give them a sense of the historical and contemporary contexts in which they, as artists of faith, are working.

LM: What else would you like to say to my readers--both the artists and nonartists--about this topic of Christians in the arts?

JR: I would encourage your readers to be shapers of culture. Books like Objects of Grace, organizations like CIVA, and institutions like NYCAMS demonstrate the vitality, diversity, and quality of work being produced by artists of faith. I would encourage your readers to become patrons of these artists, especially emerging artists. (One place to find these artists might be through CIVA.) I encourage people of every level of income to purchase at least one original work of contemporary art every year. Typically, you can get a good work of art for between $1,000 and $5,000. Someone might say, "I don't have $1,000." If you set aside $100 a month, in a year you will have $1,200. In that year, the art patron should be visiting museums and galleries to educate themselves on what makes a good work of art as well as reading books and magazines, such as IMAGE, about contemporary art. That way, when you have saved enough for a quality work of art, you will have the tools, such as visual literacy and a conception of what makes a great work of contemporary art, to collect a work that will challenge and encourage you creatively and spiritually for the rest of your life in ways that could not have been anticipated.

James Romaine: On the Creative Imagination

Dr. James Romaine is a New York based art historian. He is the co-founder of the New York Center for Arts and Media Studies (NYCAMS), a program of Bethel University. He has an undergraduate degree from Wheaton College in economics and art history, an MA in art history from the University of South Carolina (thesis: A Modern Devotion: The Faith and Art of Vincent Van Gogh), and a PhD in art history from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (dissertation: Constructing a Beloved Community: The Methodological Development of Tim Rollins and K.O.S.). He is a frequent lecturer on faith and the visual arts and has authored numerous articles, in the Art Journal of the College Art Association, American Arts Quarterly, Christian History & Biography, Re:Generation Quarterly, The Princeton Theological Review, Image: A Journal of the Arts and Religion, It was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, and Faith and Vision: Twenty-Five Years of Christians in the Visual Arts. His books include Objects of Grace: Conversations on Creativity and Faith and The Art of Sandra Bowden, both published by Square Halo Books. Dr. Romaine is on the board of directors of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA).

LeAnne: Why should Christians be interested in art?

James: The creative imagination is one of the most powerful and mysterious gifts that God has given us and a critical dimension of what it means to be human. Dorothy Sayers, in her book The Mind of the Maker, notes that all of creation is a manifestation of God's creative imagination and that, being created in his image, we are endowed with a reflection of that capacity to imagine and create. Therefore these qualities are not incidental to our spiritual beings but rather integral to who we are and who, in Christ, we will be.

There are many ways in which this creative imagination is manifested. It is manifested in how we live; there are very few homes that don't have some sort of visual material. It is manifested in how we worship. From the spaces in which we meet to the imagery, objects, and materials we use, our individual or corporate worship is shaped by visual aesthetics. So the question is really not whether Christians will or will not have art. The question is what sort of art we will have.

Works of art generate visual experiences which, in turn, either feed or starve our visual literacy and spiritual imagination which are critical to vibrant, exuberant, and dynamic living. I say "feed or starve" because our creative imagination is a capacity, endowed by God, that must be exercised and nourished. If great works of art cultivate a creative imagination that, in turn, impacts our faith experience, surrounding oneself with quality works of art is as important as getting a healthy diet.

The creative imagination is a capacity to see, in a mirror dimly, an incarnation of a future reality in the present. The work of art calls this reality into being. Great works of art are more than well-made interior decoration. Every work of art is a proposal of how to see and act in the world. Every part of our lives, even  the smallest decisions we make and how we respond to various situations, is a reflection of the quality of our creative imagination.

LM: Tell me about your book, Objects of Grace: Conversations on Creativity and Faith. What conclusions about creativity and faith have you drawn from those conversations?

JR: My aim for Objects of Grace was to highlight some artists of faith who were making good work. More than developing and moving forward an abstract body of knowledge, Objects of Grace surveys a certain artistic landscape and documents the quality and variety of artists of faith. There were also many exemplary artists who were not able to participate in Objects of Grace. I would love to do a follow up.

I chose the title because it became increasingly clear with every interview that these artists' sense of vocation was grounded in an understanding of the connection between their creative imaginations and faith. To go back to your first question about the purpose and value of art, Objects of Grace suggests how our creativity feeds faith and faith feeds creativity. As objects of grace, works of art challenge and encourage us in ways that heighten our sensitivity to the sacramental presence of the immaterial in the material. The creative imagination is a portal through which the still voice of the Holy Spirit speaks to us as we are objects transformed by grace.

More from Dr. James Romaine on Thursday.

John Silvis, Part 2: NYCAMS

Photographer John Silvis is director of NYCAMS (www.nycams.bethel.edu), the New York Center for Art and Media Studies, an arts residency of Bethel University in St. Paul, MN (www.bethel.edu). John has an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and a BA in Studio Art from Bethel University. To see some of John’s work, go to http://nycams.bethel.edu/silvis.html.

LM: Tell me about the NYCAMS program. What is it? How does it work?

JS: NYCAMS (New York Center for Art and Media Studies) is a semester art residency program for Junior and Senior undergraduate students pursuing a terminal degree in art. Students in the program receive 16 credits, which include a Contemporary Art course, a critique based Studio course and an Internship in the Arts. We receive students from 20 different Universities in the CCCU. Bethel University Art Department in St. Paul, MN owns and operates the program. Our studio is located in Chelsea, New York City.

LM: Are the students in the program trying to engage the culture with their faith and creativity? How do you encourage them in this?

JS: Yes, we provide the students with a background in Contemporary Art, as well as how Christians have engaged culture past and present. We have an exciting guest lecture program that allows them to hear from artists in the community and artists that are very deliberate about their Faith.

John Silvis: Capturing Moments

Photographer John Silvis is director of NYCAMS (http://www.nycams.bethel.edu/), the New York Center for Art and Media Studies, an arts residency of Bethel University in St. Paul, MN (www.bethel.edu). John has an MFA from the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna and a BA in Studio Art from Bethel University. To see some of John’s work, go to http://nycams.bethel.edu/silvis.html.

LeAnne: Tell me about your photography. Have you always been drawn to it? Why?

John: Photography has been second nature for me since my twelvth birthday when I received my first camera from my father. During high school, I learnt how to develop and print black and white film, and then continued developing my technical skills and conceptual work in my undergraduate studies. Capturing a certain moment and the possibility of creating a composition with light and form continue to fascinate me.

LM: What are you working on right now?

JS: Since 2004, I have turned my focus from traditional portraiture to the automobile and our relationship to it. I have been making collages, combining Polaroids and magazine images of cars, setting up environments with car models and photographing cars in motion. What interests me is what they represent as cultural signifiers and how they shape our identity. For most people they hold memories and ideas that are unique to our post-industrial era.

LM: You've got a long list of awards and grants, exhibitions and collections. What has been the most exciting highlight of your career so far?

JS: The most challenging and exciting exhibition of my career was the family series I exhibited at the Essl Collection Vienna in 2001, as a part of their emerging artists series. That exhibit was exciting because I was able to work on a large project and have it seen by a lot of people in the art world. The opening was a great opportunity to meet people and talk about the work. At the opening, I also did a performance piece with a Swiss artist, Daniel Ashwanden. It included video, pre-recorded sound, objects, but was mostly improvised.

More from John on Thursday.