The Indian Christian Artists Forum

Please Note: All posts on this blog are intended for informational purposes only, not as an evaluation or endorsement of any artist, art form, organization or website.  If you have concerns about the accuracy of any information presented please contact the author at hmsarthistorian@gmail.com.

I recently came across a news story about a group of Catholic Christians in India who are getting serious about deepening the connection between their faith and the visual arts. The story describes the formation of the Indian Christian Artists Forum, which seeks to "promote study and appreciation of Christian art among various sections of the people- clergy, religious and laity in the church, and the wider society in India, and to encourage a deeper understanding, appreciation and application of Indian Christian art in theology, liturgy and architecture in the Church in India." The forum was convened by artist/priest Dr. Paul Kattukaran, and consists of fifteen renowned artists from various parts of India. At their inaugural meeting in August, the group appointed Kattukaran as the national coordinator for the forum.

Contextualized Henna Art

Creation to Return story from Henna Stories on Vimeo.

In today's post I'm happy to present the contextualized artwork of a missionary recently in the field. Mina Rowland (name changed for security purposes) has been a Southern Baptist missionary in East Africa and South Asia. In her work, she chose to explore the use of henna storying for evangelism.  Henna (also known as mehndi in Hindi) is a plant that grows in regions of Africa, southern Asia, Australia and Oceania. Among other things, it's used as a form of body decoration in the form of temporary tattoos, most often by new brides. Henna has been used to decorate women's bodies since the Bronze Age in the Mediterranean area (3000-600 B.C.), and today is used widely by Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians.  Henna is even mentioned in the Bible in Song of Solomon 1:14 and 4:13,14.

Before reading the interview below with Mina, please check out this story about her use of henna storying.  At the end of my interview with her below, look for additional links and downloadable resources, as well as a related link about a henna art show. 

The Need for Contextualized Theology and Evangelism

Here's a great blog post by Allen Yeh on the need for nonwestern theology in the body of Christ, by way of Matt Stone at Glocal Christianity.  I encourage you to read it because it explains why we in the West need to hear the perspectives of our nonwestern brothers and sisters in Christ.  I think it is a great parallel to 1 Corinthians 12:12-26, where Paul explains how indispensable each part of Christ's body (the church) is to the others.

An Early Contextualization in China, Part 2

I am continuing my post from last week regrading the Nestorian/Sianfu Stele in China. The monument is 10' high by 3'4" wide, just under one foot thick and weighs two tons. It is made of a black, sub-granular oolitic limestone. The figure-head decoration of the tablet consists of an immense pearl held between two dragon-like creatures called "Lungs.” The lung is a Chinese symbol that has taken on different shades of meaning over the many centuries of China’s cultural history and continues to be a subject of much debate by scholars. 

FREE performance in WNC

For those of you in the Western North Carolina area, here's a FREE performance you might like to check out: an Indonesian Gamelan Concert at Western Carolina University on Thursday, Nov. 18th. I'm not sure if I'll be able to make it due to my work schedule, but will go if I can. Click the link above for more info.

An Early Contextualization in China, Part 1

Today I want to begin to examine a historical attempt at visual contextualization. The example is found in China and is called the Sianfu Stele (or Nestorian Stele).  It was erected in 781 A.D. by Nestorian Christians in or around Hsian-Fu, was buried in 845 due to persecution, and rediscovered in 1625.  The text on the monument is written in Chinese and Syriac, and chronicles the diffusion of Nestorianism in China, including the initial declaration of the “Law of the Messiah” to the Tang Emperor Taizong around 635. 

The large Chinese characters at the top of the monument proclaim it as the “Chinese Monument of the History of the Luminous Religion of Daqin” (the church in China referred to itself as "The Luminous Religion of Daqin", Daqin being the Chinese language term for the Roman Empire in the first and second centuries A.D., and in later eras was also used to refer to the Syriac Christian churches).

Contexualized Dance Among Australian Aboriginals

Easter Purlapa, in Yuendumu (Yurntumu), Central Australia, 1978.
In this scene Jesus is taken by soldiers for his crucifixion.

A corroboree is a ceremonial meeting of Aboriginal Australians. The word was coined by the European settlers of Australia in imitation of the Aboriginal word caribberie. At a corroboree Aboriginal Australians interact with the Dreamtime through dance, music and costume. Many of the ceremonies are sacred and people from outside a particular community are not permitted to participate or watch. There are some women's and men's dances and songs, and those used by both men and women. Whether it be public or private, the ceremony is for invited guests. As a part of these dances members of the language would paint particular designs on their bodies to indicate the type of ceremony being held and the language group and family group performing. More on this below.