God in the Gallery: A Christian Embrace of Modern Art

Baker Academic, October 2008. Paper Back. Very Good. Writing in a different vein than the somewhat predictable and often uncharitable Christian critiques of modern and contemporary art made by theologians, philosophers, and Christian artists, Daniel Siedell sets out a book of criticism 'nourished by a Nicene Christianity that seeks to embrace all that is good, true, and beautiful.' A professor of modern and contemporary art history, criticism, and theory at the University of Nebraska, Siedell is a former museum curator of modern and contemporary art who has spent most of his professional career outside the bounds of professional Christendom. Interestingly, his experience of certain currents in contemporary art have significantly modified his practice of Christianity, provoking a retrieval of the ancient fullness of the faith 'as a network of robust liturgical, sacramental, and ascetic practices,' which in turn provide a provocative framework for understanding contemporary art. The seven essays in this book form an idiosyncratic but comprehensive critical engagement with modern and contemporary art, moving fluently between history, theology, iconography, theory, artistic intention, and the consideration of a single painting by Enrique Martínez Celaya (a study of artistic practice as structured and shaped by a religious worldview). Long needed as an alternative to traditional 'Christian' criticism, God in the Gallery is (to quote a reviewer), 'a seminal work of interpretation'-subtle, nuanced, and deeply experienced. 362 pp. Some pages beginning to yellow slightly. Very light wear to cover edges. Copy is unread and is perfectly bound.