Australian Aboriginal Artist Greg Weatherby

I came across this review of Christian "related" art in Australia and thought I would pass it on, especially regarding Aboriginal artist Greg Weatherby.  I put related in quotes above because as the author notes, it's not entirely clear what the belief systems of the artists actually are.  I've come across information on a handful of Aboriginal Christian/Christian-related artists lately, but didn't want to post all them in a row.  So, since I am in the process of traveling as I write this post, I will go ahead and publish this one.

Festival of Native Peoples

If you live anywhere near Western NC, please go to the 6th Annual Festival of Native Peoples in Cherokee, NC this weekend:

Indigenous tribes from across the Americas gather for the sixth Annual Festival of Native Peoples this August at the Cherokee Indian Fair Grounds in Cherokee, N.C. Considered the finest showcase of native dance, song and art in the southeast, the event honors the collective history, customs and wisdom of some of the oldest documented tribes.

Adult admission $10.  I've been two or three times in years past, and it's wonderful.  Last year's art on display (and for sale) by native artists was of great quality and diversity.  I highly recommend it!

Indian Artist Frank Wesley

I wanted to provide some information about a great 20th century Indian Christian artist named Frank Wesley (1923-2002).  The following five paragraphs are directly quoted from the Kerrmuller Collection Art Gallery:

I continue to be bogged down by other responsibilities, while I try to prepare more blog posts.  In the meantime: though not indigenous-made, I thought this was an interesting "Raven Cross" that references a contextualization of a Tlingit myth.

Here is a Northwest Coast version of the same Raven, by First Nation artist Todd Baker, which is accompanied by a description of the story:

I've been a bit busy lately, hence the low post rate.  I just finished a painstakingly short missions article called “Contextualizing Visual Arts in Communities Around the World" which, at 1,000 words, doesn't scratch the surface (or at least doesn't give adequate depth to the limited number of examples I found).  In any case, I used some information from this blog, and some new research and contacts to write about three examples of contextualized nonwestern Christian art.  I'll soon be posting about all three of them, one of which will be an update to a previous post.  In addition, I plan to post a book review about an Australian indigenous artist.  So stay tuned!

In the meantime, enjoy this close-up of the Maori face of Christ from a church altar that I used previously in this post.

The Lost World of Genesis

Here's a link to the second part of an interesting interview with John Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College.  In the interview, Walton discusses his book, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate, and his idea that the the creation of the universe and the Garden of Eden were closely related to Solomon's Temple, in the sense that the Temple was a model of the cosmos.  He posits that the creation account in Genesis 1 is a description of function (in terms of temple use) rather than a description of the material universe, i.e., the young earth creationist viewpoint.  He relates this idea of creation and the cosmic temple to the other ancient cultures of the Bible, in how their temples were set up and used, as well as their shared symbolism.

Maori Baptismal Font

I just came across this article about an interesting Maori-carved baptismal font in an Anglican Church in New Zealand.  Although it was created for a western-style church, the meaning of the carvings is an interesting attempt to use Maori spiritual motifs for a Christian context.  I'm not sure if it is a successful example of contextualized art or not.  I'd be inclined to say not, because it wasn't created for a Maori Christian context and seams to be more syncretistic than contextualized.   But it looks really cool, and I think it was a noble attempt.  Take a look and let me know what you think!