The Arts Art has always had a place in churches. The eye and imagination presenting and interpreting beauty is an act of devotion. From the early donation of rare tapestries to contemporary art exhibitions, the Cathedral celebrates creativity.
Giving Way to the Transcendent
“In art we are once again able to do all the things we have forgotten; we are able to walk on water; we speak to the angels who call us; we move, unfettered, among the stars.” MADELEINE L’ENGLE BISHOP MANNING God has planted in all of us the longing for beauty, for greatness, for perfection. Here in this great Temple speaking to us of our fellowship with God, we find that deep instinct of our souls visibly and gloriously expressed. The Cathedral speaks to us of the limitless possibilities of our human nature. It tells us that “nothing is too great, or too high, or too beautiful, to be true,” that all this world is God’s, and that everything in art, in music, in the theatre, in literature, in education, should lift us nearer to Him. BILL BAKER Art makes us human, and art brings us closer to God. From the beginning, cathedrals were places where beautiful art was encouraged. When you come to a service or an event at the Cathedral, you feel the presence of God through the art. The presence of God, illuminated through all this beauty. THE REV. CANON TOM MILLER In
Dancers and drummers from the Forces of Nature Dance Theatre perform with musicians at Paul Winter's Annual Winter Solstice Celebration. 178
Morningside Heights, the architecture of the Cathedral is certainly key to how closely the arts and faith work together on a grand scale to bring creativity both human and divine—and perhaps there is not too much difference between the two—to the life of St. John the Divine. In the Episcopal tradition, incarnation is an important part of the doctrine. So it is part of tradition to think that everyone in the world, not just church people, are created with this creative impulse. Artists live to investigate and understand the world and sometimes advocate. As New York’s cathedral, we claim to be a house of prayer, broadly defined, for all people, which means we have a profile beyond our denominational identity or doctrinal focus. Our mission is to serve the enlightenment of all people in ways of justice and peace, and in that regard, to encourage respect for the dignity of all human beings. Art helps us to do that.
DEAN MORTON From time immemorial, religion’s major partners in bringing people together in gratitude and thankfulness have been the arts: music, poetry, literature, dance, theater, architecture, sculpture, and the visual arts—all of which throughout history have deepened compassion leading to personal involvement in working for peace and justice. BISHOP DIETSCHE The art that we are bringing here expresses the ways in which people are living out that attempt to give way to the transcendent. A lot of the work we bring is very secular. Every work doesn’t have to be a picture of Jesus. That doesn’t matter because it is the artistic enterprise in itself that is sacred and that flows from God through us. I started off in architecture school and I worked as a cartoonist for years before I was a priest. Even when I am drawing a cartoon, I feel that it is an expression of something which is speaking in and through me of God. MARILYN NELSON The Cathedral uses contemporary art as a way of inviting people to that experience of awe. I don’t know another church that does anything quite like this. When you invite art and artists into a place like this, you’re inviting them to bring their own most ambitious works. And the ambition of most artists is to create awe.
“I dwell in Possibility — A fairer House than Prose — More numerous of Windows — Superior — for Doors —” EMILY DICKINSON, INDUCTED INTO THE AMERICAN POETS CORNER, 1984
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