How can viewing art reveal God to us? In Redeeming Vision, Elissa Yukiko Weichbrodt provides a Christian guide to looking at and learning from art.
Christian Worldview in Art
This fascinating and delightful book is an outstanding work. In Part 1, Weichbrodt walks you through her framework for viewing and understanding art. She introduces you to the toolbox for visual analysis, connecting formal elements, principles, styles, and mediums. She presents the idea of the archive, explaining how we make meaning from what we have seen before. And she teaches how the frame should also be considered, noting the actual physical frame of a piece but also whether it is presented in situ, in a museum, or via digital media.
The idea of framing was insightful to me, as it helped me understand why preaching can have a different feeling depending on if you are actually in the room with the preacher or watching it online and out of time. Weichbrodt is excellent at educating on such difficult subjects. Her Christian faith provides the ultimate worldview, and this is further exemplified in the book.
Part 2 shows how we can “Love the Lord Your God” while viewing art. Weichbrodt uses Polykleitos’s Head of a Youth to show how representational art reveals the idol of the ideal. She uses the vault of San Zeno Chapel to demonstrate how abstract art helps us wonder at God’s transcendence. And she uses Rebecca Davis’ Quilt, Nine-Patch Variation to reveal that God is present. This book is a compelling read, showing the spiritual realities in works of art and the world.
Open Up Your Eyes to Wonder
The book ends with Part 3 and how you can “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself.” Weichbrodt teaches that portraits are filled with tension, looking especially at how the artist can distort reality. Modern technology takes this even further, allowing us to manipulate ourselves and our environment. We must not lose the fact that we are created in the Imago Dei, keeping us both curious and humble as we see others as well as ourselves.
Landscapes deal with place and space, reminding us that we must see that we share this broken world with our neighbors. Art that depicts everyday life tells us of the complexities of life, and how we are all in need of a Savior. Historical art helps us Christians to lament the past, even as we remember our reality as children of God. This book will help you enjoy art as a transformative, religious experience — teaching you about God and about yourself.
The book ends with examples of art that showcase our broken world, and how we need Christ to make all things new. This book will open up your eyes to wonder. It will help you see what is actually being said when looking at art. And it will help you direct your gaze upward, to the worship of God.
I received a media copy of Redeeming Vision and this is my honest review.