Creative Spirituality: The Way of the ArtistIn a provocative book that explores the fascinating link between the creative and the sacred, Robert Wuthnow claims that artists have become the spiritual vanguard of our time. Drawing on in-depth interviews with painters, sculptors, writers, singers, dancers, and actors, Wuthnow includes the spiritual insights of accomplished artists who have gained prominence as Broadway performers, gospel singers, jazz musicians, poets, Native American painters, weavers, dancers, and installation artists. He profiles such national figures as novelist Madeleine L'Engle, playwright Tony Kushner, photographer Andres Serrano, sculptor Greg Wyatt, dancer Carla DeSola, and woodcarver David Ellsworth. Situating these artists' reflections in the context of wider cultural ferment, Wuthnow argues that spirituality is coming increasingly to focus on the inherently ineffable character of the sacred—what artists refer to as divine mystery. As growing numbers of Americans doubt the adequacy of religious creeds in defining the sacred, they are turning to artists who seek a more intuitive sense of the sacred through symbols and imagery. These artists provide rich insights into the social and cultural problems of our time. Many have been shaped by the growing ethnic, racial, and religious diversity of the United States. Many are at the cutting edge of new thinking about body, mind, and spirit, and many are seeking ways to integrate their understandings of spirituality with interests in nature and preserving the environment. For readers interested in exploring contemporary spirituality or engaged in spiritual pursuits of their own, this engaging, elegantly written, and erudite book will answer many questions about the changing moral and spiritual role of creativity and the arts. |
Contents
13 | |
Driven to Explore | 42 |
Making Sense of Oneself | 74 |
Art as Spiritual Practice | 107 |
The Circle of Life | 139 |
Body and Spirit | 169 |
The One Earth | 201 |
Millennial Visions | 232 |
The Way of the Artist | 264 |
Appendix | 275 |
Notes | 283 |
Index | 297 |
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Common terms and phrases
American Andres Serrano Ann Biddle attended aware beauty became become believe Bible body and spirit Catholic Center childhood Christian church connection contemporary artists creating creative culture Cynthia West dance David Dunn David Ellsworth DeSola emphasizes energy everything experience express faith feel friends Gaines Gallery going Greg Greg Wyatt healing human ideas images insights interest in spirituality Jennie Avila Jesus Jon Davis learned listening living Lydia García Madeleine L'Engle means meditation Meredith Monk Michele Zackheim mother moved mystery nature one's painting parents Paul Kim Pauline Oliveros performance Piss Christ play pray prayer questions realized reflect relationship religion religious traditions remembers Richard Foreman Richard Rodriguez Robert Mirabal sacred Santa Fe says sense spiritual explorations spiritual journey spiritual practice story teachings theology there's things tions Tony Kushner trying Warren Cooper Wendy Ellsworth writing York City