Contemporary Christianity’s annual Catherwood Lecture always attempts to bring theology to the public square and leave its audience with something to think about.
Last year, HBOS whistleblower Paul Moore spoke about his experience as the former Head of Group Regulatory Risk at HBOS, the only senior risk and compliance executive in the UK banking sector to speak out publicly in the aftermath of the financial crisis about what he saw from the inside of a bank. You can listen back to his lecture, and how he feels about finance and faith, on Contemporary Christianity’s website.
Amongst the blocks of colour, unmade beds, sheds and rubble, do you see any aspect of religious expression or faith in modern art? Was it a positive representation? Was the art any good?
These are the kind of questions that Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin will be addressing in this year’s lecture: Contemporary Art and the Return of Religion.
After several centuries of mutual distrust, mainstream contemporary art from Andy Warhol and Andres Serrano to Damien Hirst and Chris Ofili can now be seen to incorporate the kind of religious references which since the origins of modern art had been largely absent.
This raises some interesting questions: How do these images relate to their historic, traditional meanings? To whom do religious stories and symbols belong? And how should Christians respond to such works?
Dr. Adrienne Dengerink Chaplin studied art history and violin in the Free University in Amsterdam, taught philosophical aesthetics at the Institute for Christian Studies in Toronto, and was president of the Canadian Society for Aesthetics. Her research interests are the problem of meaning in art, art and embodiment, and theological aesthetics. Published in various books and journals and co-author of Art and Soul: Signposts for Christians in the Arts (IVP, 2002), Adrienne is a free-lance writer and speaker, currently writing on the relation between faith and art.
Open to the public and free.
- Wednesday 17 November at 8pm, Room MD007, University of Ulster (Magee campus)
- Thursday 18 November, Connor Lecture Theatre, University of Ulster (Belfast campus)
4 comments:
Wow, I had no idea about this, thanks for the tip! Adrienne is great; I was in their home in Canada a few years back.
Her husband Jonathan is a friend of mine. He's a Dooyeweerd scholar and political philosopher now at Tyndale House, Cambridge. It's fantastic to have them both in the UK, and we could really use their "reformational" perspectives here in Northern Ireland!
It's such a terribly small world. I should be along on Thursday evening at UUB. I'll look out for you.
Earlier in the day QUB is hosting a public lecture by another Christian philosopher (below). I've just emailed Jonathan about it, but I guess Adrienne will be busy. But if you or any of your friends want to come, let me know, and I'll introduce you to everyone.
To mark World Philosophy Day, this Thursday (18th November) at 3.30pm Professor Kevin Timpe (Templeton Fellow at Oxford University and Professor of Philosophy at Northwest Nazarene University, New York) will give a talk entitled:
“Theism and Ontological Commitment”
All are welcome. The venue is the Conference Room (20.103), School of Politics, International Studies and Philosophy.
thanks for that tip off Alan, never knew about it.
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