God in the Modern Wing - Viewing Art with Eyes of Faith

"In recent years, Christian thinkers have been engaging modern visual art in fresh and telling ways. This collection of penetrating essays is a welcome addition to this growing stream. Through the eyes of an informed and generous faith, a fiercely complex and often obscure movement is seen to be rife with rumors of the Christian God. A fascinating read." -- Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Duke University
"If the reader seeks a book that explores important examples of modern art with enviable clarity and keen theological insight, then this book is one to read. Cam Anderson has gathered a group of artists, art historians, curators, and writers who offer searching reflections that emerge from their experience in the studio, classroom, and museum. The result is a pleasure to read." -- David Morgan, Duke University, author of The Forge of Vision: A Visual History of Modern Christianity
"In the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago there is no obviously religious art: no Madonnas seated on thrones, no cherubs, no ascetics gazing heavenward, no doves descending. It all appears thoroughly secular. But suppose that, with eyes of faith and informed about the lives and times of the artists, one looks closely and reflectively at what is there rather than at what is not there. That is what the writers in this collection do. And what they see is art haunted by transcendence on the one hand and despair and brokenness on the other-and, here and there, by celebration of the beauty of the ordinary. It turns out that the distance between Fourth Presbyterian in Chicago and the Modern Wing is not as great as many think. Take and read-and have yours eyes opened." -- Nicholas Wolterstorff, Noah Porter Professor Emeritus of Philosophical Theology, Yale University, and senior research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, University of Virginia
"In a variety of essays ranging from the personal to the didactic, God in the Modern Wing unpacks the continued challenge and opportunity that modern art, now more than a century old, presents to an audience that can often be dismissive of its possible merits-contemporary Christians. Cameron Anderson, one of the anthology's editors, raises the prospect that his goal is a 'fool's errand.' But the reader who is open to the complexities of modern art as well as belief will find the efforts here a welcome opportunity to reconsider both." -- Randall K. Van Schepen, professor of art and architectural history at Roger Williams University
"If the God of the Bible is in the business of being found in the most unlikely places-a bush, a ladder, a donkey, a meal-then we shouldn't be surprised if he chooses to show up in the Modern Wing of the Art Institute of Chicago. This marvelous book takes us on a riveting tour of artworks, from Dali to Rothko to Catlett, with expert guides who train our eyes to perceive signs of divine presence, alive and at large." -- W. David O. Taylor, associate professor of theology and culture at Fuller Theological Seminary
"This wonderful compilation of vignettes on many of the most indelible and spiritually evocative works of modernism listens closely for their theological resonances while paying attention to the art-historical context, critical reception, enduring significance, and situatedness of each work within the museum's diverse collection. Its holistic approach preserves both the utmost intellectual integrity along with a generative curiosity of spirit. For readers exhausted by the fraught division of art and religion, the esteemed collective of voices in God in the Modern Wing issues an inspiring counterpoint and will serve as an adept guide for effecting fresh encounters with modern art." -- Taylor Worley, associate vice president of spiritual life at Trinity International University