"Heart of the Artist", part II: Chapter One

Just a couple thoughts on Chapter One of Noland's Heart of the Artist...

On page 39, he says,

Any growth that we experience in character will be an asset in everything we do.

Do you believe that? Do you believe, for instance, that growth in honesty will not only help you relationally, but creatively? Do you think that growth in discipline will help you not only vocationally, but artistically? Can an increase in kindness make you a better
designer? Can growth in tact make you a better videographer? Can more courage make you a beter writer?

I actually believe the answer to all these questions is "yes". The reason it is called integrity is that it has to do with everything in your life being integrated. What lack of integrity (or integration) in your character is holding you back?

One more question. The first "Personal Action Step" on page 49 asks you to choose a personal ministry verse. Do you have one?

I don't know that I have one specific verse. But I am reminded often of Philippians 2:3-4.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

I look forward to the day that I can truly exemplify these words.

HELVETICA

Thanks to good old Netflix, I watched a great little documentary last night. Helvetica is about – you guessed it – the ubiquitous typeface. How could a documentary about a font not be great?

Call it “corporate”, or “boring” if you must, but Helvetica is everywhere. (It’s also described in the film with any of the following adjectives: democratic, socialist, inscrutable, brilliant, legible, limited, unlimited. Oh yeah, and let’s not forget that according to one interviewee in the film, Helvetica is responsible for both the Vietnam and Iraq wars!)

The documentary is packed with literally hundreds of cut shots of Helvetica in action. I bet you didn’t realize how many logos and storefronts use the font. But probably more interesting is the film’s investigation of its status as the apex of “modern” fonts. If you don’t quite understand the difference between modern and post-modern, this film will make you think you understand. (Perhaps this might be helpful if you’re not sure why Grace Church has two “expressions”.)

But then you will inevitably ask the question, “What is post-modern?” Is the proliferation of more expressive, more curvy, more avant garde typefaces the post-modern reaction to Helvetica? But what about all the designers who now flock back to Helvetica in reaction to these expressive post-modern fonts? Does that make them post-post-modern? Or is there room within post-modernism to react against oneself? Can Helvetica be both modern and post-modern?

If you are a designer - or even just a student of culture - I would recommend a viewing of Helvetica.

New Series; New Creative Theme

Our new series entitled "Ecclesia" explores how the church operates, how it is structured, what it functions as, and its relationship with heaven and earth. Because we are basically laying out the "blueprints" for the global and local church we decided that blueprints/schematics were a perfect creative motif to flow through the mediums, and design concepts for the next few weeks. Below are some of the examples of blueprint art from the creative team.

The words in the blueprints below were done with stencils and spray paint, and the butterflies drawn with colored pencils.

The following blueprints are by Layton Diament with pen and ink:

“Heart of the Artist”, part I: Preface and Introduction

Here it is… the first installment of our “online book club”. I want to share a few thoughts on the opening of Rory Noland’s The Heart of the Artist, and see if any of you had some thoughts to share.

The first thing that jumped out to me was the quote from Irving Stone’s biography of Van Gogh, Lust for Life…

But then, no artist is normal; if he were he wouldn’t be an artist. Normal men don’t create works of art. They eat, sleep, hold down routine jobs, and die. You are hypersensitive to life and nature; that’s why you are able to interpret it for the rest of us…

So insightful. Along those same lines, this quote of Noland from page 17…

Artists look at things differently than nonartists do. We notice detail; we appreciate nuance and beauty.

And this from page 18…

The world doesn’t need more thick-skinned people. It needs more people who are sensitive and tender.

I hope you appreciated these nuggets of encouragement as I did; and not just as proof texts which justify you thinking more highly of yourself than you ought because of your artistic nature, but instead as humble validations of your God-given identity.

As further validation, I hope you appreciated Noland’s citations on pages 20-21 of artists in the Bible. Did you know that Bezalel (mentioned on page 21, and of course in Exodus 35:31-32) is the first person in all of Scripture described as having the Holy Spirit?

…He has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs…

Wow. Could I be so bold as to pray that God would fill us in the same way?

Notice the context of that passage. Bezalel was called to use all of this skill and intelligence for Kingdom purposes. Noland is right in saying (on page 23) that, “[s]erving God in the local church is a high and noble calling.”

What do you think?