“Like the biblical prophet, the artist is often an outsider, one who stands apart and delivers a challenge to the community. The prophets of old employed many of the same tricks used by writers and artists: lofty rhetoric, apocalyptic imagery, biting satire, lyrical evocations of better times, and subversive irony. To be sure, the true prophet came not to proclaim his own message, but that of the Lord.”

- Gregory Wolfe, IMAGE Journal editorial statement

Because in recent decades there has been a push back from artists who don’t want to sacrifice autonomy to be a mouthpiece for the church, it is important to clarify how the artist can help the church community without sacrificing their integrity.  Wolfe’s presentation of the artist as a prophet helps to clarify the role of the artist as a conduit through which God speaks to and moves in the world. Elizabeth Gilbert in a TED Talk related how traditionally the creative ‘genius’ was seen as something outside of the artist—something that came and went—making the artist the conduit through which the final piece manifests itself. I believe artists are in some ways more attuned to the whispers of the spirit and thus are compelled to give voice to those whispers in their work. Artists, like prophets, can be conduits for the Voice of God.

Filed under: life by Jonathan