Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, H. R. Rookmaaker, Crossway, 1970): giving form to a concept or spirit (p. 131); an interpretation of reality put into a form (pgs. 26, 82); a particular view of life expressed attractively (pgs. 18, 28); a portrayal of reality in a human way (pgs. 21, 95); depictions of important human issues (p. 69)

Art-KH thoughts (also culture)

Art (ideas from Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, H. R. Rookmaaker, Crossway, 1970): giving form to a concept or spirit (p. 131); an interpretation of reality put into a form (pgs. 26, 82); a particular view of life expressed attractively (pgs. 18, 28); a portrayal of reality in a human way (pgs. 21, 95); depictions of important human issues (p. 69)

Art (from “arm”): (4) the conscious use of skill and creative imagination esp. in the production of aesthetic objects; (1) skill acquired by experience, study, or observation; (2) a branch of learning; (3) occupation requiring knowledge or skill (Art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power.) Webster’s Ninth Collegiate Dictionary

Exo 28:2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
Exo 28:40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.

Culture: 1. The arts, customs, and habits that characterize a particular society or nation.
2. The beliefs, values, behavior and material objects that constitute a people's way of life.
3. (microbiology) The process of growing a bacterial or other biological entity in an artificial medium.
4. (anthropology) Any knowledge passed from one generation to the next, not necessarily with respect to human beings. Wiktionary (2/18/13)

Cultural changes: technology, physical safety concerns and abuse reporting, pluralism, nursing/retirement homes, treatment of blacks, translations, rhetoric, automobiles, women’s rights, acceptance of gays, head mic, Bill Russell smoking on the bench between quarters

One who cannot separate his desires from his judgment must recuse himself from the discussion.
The whole world lieth in darkness.
Culture’s tendency is “slouching toward Gomorrah.”

Nothing is more beautiful, there is no greater work of art, than the co-working art project of seeing corrupted image bearers changed into His image.

“Be willing to embrace cultural change that doesn’t compromise our theological and doctrinal positions.” Keith Wiebe, 2/5/13
Contrast the (relative rhetorical) power of this rewording: “Do not embrace cultural change that compromises our theological and doctrinal positions.”
Embrace the good, eschew the evil. Eph. 5:10-11

How do we know the mind of Christ in discerning good and evil? Knowing and continually meditating in Word. Review Essentials “will of God” paradigm; consider authority versus (personal) impulse; consider RCC view of authority and Baptist distinctive of “priesthood of the believer.”

Exhortation: prayer, immersion in Word not world, walk with wise not foolish, be disciple-makers (priests) not self-gratifiers

LT Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, H. R. Rookmaaker, Crossway, 1970 10/8-12/9/04
Recommended by Lewis Carl

Art defined:
giving form to a concept or spirit (p. 131);
an interpretation of reality put into a form (pgs. 26, 82);
a particular view of life expressed attractively (pgs. 18, 28);
a portrayal of reality in a human way (pgs. 21, 95);
depictions of important human issues (p. 69)

Modern art (and the death of a culture) resulted from an ever-consistent application of the principles of the Enlightenment (or even the Renaissance 1300’s-1600’s, p. 132) (43-44, 80, 111-112, 196, 203, 213, 214). Principles of the Enlightenment include that reality begins with self (or perception) and is only what self can reason and observe (85, 95, 96). This is an epistemological problem (85). The degradation came as a result of a deep reversal of spiritual values in the Age of Reason (11, 47/72-thesis, 48, 80, 204, 208).

The antidote is found on pages 50/132-3/163-give God His place as Creator and Lawgiver; 149-151-redemption; 198-224 1) apply unchanging principles to new situation, 2) react positively to positive elements in culture, 3) understand scientism, 4) don’t be satisfied with anything less than abundant life, 5) stand for freedom-justice and hunger for righteousness, 6) preach, 7) protest; 225-227 1) know limits-acknowledge God, 2) operate creatively (within limits), 3) recognize sin, 4) share new resurrection life in Christ-speak the truth and love-be salt.

(history.com on Enlightenment) European politics, philosophy, science and communications were radically reoriented during the course of the “long 18th century” (1685-1815) as part of a movement referred to by its participants as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment. Enlightenment thinkers in Britain, in France and throughout Europe questioned traditional authority and embraced the notion that humanity could be improved through rational change. The Enlightenment produced numerous books, essays, inventions, scientific discoveries, laws, wars and revolutions. The American and French Revolutions were directly inspired by Enlightenment ideals and respectively marked the peak of its influence and the beginning of its decline. The Enlightenment ultimately gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.

The medieval period had a biblical view (21) and a classical humanist view (22), and the mix developed into the Reformation mixed with mystical elements (29). There was a Christian withdrawal from culture (31, 32, 159! 183-4); there had been a largely Christian consensus in the 1600’s (40). This Christianity morphed into a man-based moralism (41). During the Enlightenment (1700’s), there was a Creator-recognized science (42, 50). During the Age of Reason/Enlightenment (43), there was a resurgence of humanism (man is good, starting with reason and perception, things will get better; humanism: not faith as in Heb 11:6) (43-44). Man confined himself to a box of scientism (47), but he still is human and reduced to a leap in the dark (49).

Goya portrayed brute facts (50-2)→ The Romanticism of rationalism and naturalistic science (62) provided escape from box through imagination (54) vision and feeling (55) dualism (56) themes died→ (box of scientism→ leap→ despair/death or mystical casting off of restraint (Blake 63) or escapism (restoration, bourgeois 67), Christians were ignorant/absent (67)→ one reaction was bourgeois “get comfortable”

(76-7) (romantic sex-less love vs. lawless lust vs. Christian pleasure vs. “facts” 71-9)→ reality is sensations brain receives (Monet, 1885, started painting sensations 85,113)→ feelings portrayed and integrated into naturalism (Gauguin 89), (expressionism 91) Seurat, Degas, Van Gogh (feelings), Cezanne (94-four), the structure (95-6)→ tension between two streams: material totality (box) vs. humanness (image of God) (96), striving to achieve synthesis (97, 106)→ art nouveau (184), churnings (102)→ expressionism (103, 105-6)→abstract (109), searching for meaning (110), in “seemeth” (111)→ cubism (analytic→ to synthetic, 122) (113-4, 6)→ absurd (119-20), Picasso broke through (120, 130) with four reactions (123-6)→ today (131, 138, by 1920)! → modern art style “needed” to communicate Acts 13:36 but not Christless modernism (135, 161ff), developments include cold romanticism (138), surrealism (145, 147, 159), childish abstract expressionism (164), op and pop art (176-7), happenings and hippies, mysticism (202)

K sermon writing story 73, feeling 75, sexuality 81, confession 136-7, 149, thinking necessary 166, 168, listen to rock 190, movements 191, spontaneity 200, 217, authority 216, preach 218ff

CBC 136-7, 216, 245
Lewis 19, 20, 21, 48, 56, 71, 73, 82, 95, 135 with 161, 233, 235-6, 244
pronunciations, cubism, how does music communicate?
Culture 36
Book covers thesis 47, 72
Art is revelation 49
Withdrawal 75
Bourgeois lukewarmness 76, 103, 210ff, 214, 221
Positivist 80
Greatness 87, 91
Summary 132, 224, 250-action
Interpretation of 135
Titles 140
Artist person, spirit of age, age ended with Picasso 156
Quote 174
Life before death? 183
Music 186
Existentialism 203-4
Art 205
False religion 208
Rabbits and atoms 209
How to live 225-7
Art is 228, 237-8, 243
Reality 237
Judging 241
Beauty 242
Love 243
Legalism 244
Acts 13:36 245
Uniqueness 248

X 133 ( )

I just finishing rereading this book for my 11th grade Omnibus class and found it just as vital as it was the first time I read it in the 70's. Rookmaacher explains modern art to the common man. He really helps to put some things of our postmodern culture in historical perspective. A must read for any Christian who wants to understand the thinking behind the arts of today. ( )

One of the joys of fathering a bunch of boys is taking them fishing. My oldest is only eight, so as of yet we have not had a lot of success actually catching fish! Nontheless, there is a lot of joy in teaching them about bobbers, hooks, bait, casting the line, etc. – there is truly an art and a science to the task. One of the difficulties that little hands have is pulling all the information together and using it properly.

Just as little children need a good teacher to help them integrate a lot of facts, so do we often find ourselves in the same condition. In writing Modern Art and the Death of a Culture, the late Hans Rookmaaker comes alongside us to explain how a lot of different topics intersect and interact with each other. Art, aesthetics, culture, theology, philosophy world history – these various areas are laid out on the table for discussion, and then integrated together to make a strong point.

Rookmaaker, a lifelong friend of Francis Schaeffer, provides us with a biblical perspective on the modern world, focusing specifically on the philosophical agenda behind modern art. Beginning his overview with the dawn of the Renaissance and Reformation, Rookmaaker quickly covers a lot of historical ground in the journey toward the modern era. In the end, he reveals the roots of modernity’s despair. The autonomous reason of mankind put God outside of the box of the world, and as a result began the slow descent into subjective meaninglessness.

Don’t let the topic of the book scare you. Even while addressing heavy themes, Rookmaaker writes with great skill and passion. He is not trying to impress you with ivory tower gibberish and a specialized insider’s vocabulary. Although he knows his material exceedingly well, his aim is to edify Christians. He wants to teach you how to pull a lot of cultural data together in order that you understand the times in which you live. If you have ever been puzzled at the message, or lack thereof, of modern art, Rookmaaker will help you understand and discern what you are seeing. I highly recommend this work, and wish that many more works like this will be written that help Christians to understand the worlds of high culture, popular art, and music.

Note: This 1994 Crossway edition is actually a reprint of this classic work originally written in 1970, about seven years before the author’s death. ( )