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State of the Arts: From Bezalel to Mapplethorpe
We cannot escape the arts. They permeate our lives and our culture―the décor, architecture, music, entertainment, everyday utensils. The imagination of this age, its ideas and concerns, percolate throughout the culture via the arts. These ideas affect us for good or for evil. The choice is not whether to live with art; we must choose whether to live with good art or bad art. Art―like all things human―needs to be redeemed. Christians cannot abandon the arts to the secular world, but can use them to display God's glory. This book will help us develop an informed artistic taste, open yet critical, discerning yet appreciative of what is truly excellent.
256 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1991
27 people are currently reading
382 people want to read
About the author
Gene Edward Veith Jr.
45 books185 followersGene Edward Veith Jr., is the Culture Editor of WORLD MAGAZINE. He was formerly Professor of English at Concordia University Wisconsin, where he has also served as Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences. He is the author of numerous books, including Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life.
Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”
Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
Postmodern Times received a Christianity Today Book Award as one of the top 25 religious books of 1994. He was named Concordia's Adult Learning Teacher of the Year in 1993 and received the Faculty Laureate Award as outstanding faculty member in 1994. He was a Salvatori Fellow with the Heritage Foundation in 1994-1995 and is a Senior Fellow with the Capital Research Center. He was given the layman’s 2002 Robert D. Preus Award by the Association of Confessional Lutherans as “Confessional Lutheran of the Year.”
Dr. Veith was born in Oklahoma in 1951. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1973 and received a Ph.D. in English from the University of Kansas in 1979. He has taught at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College and was a Visiting Professor at Wheaton College in Illinois. He was also a Visiting Lecturer at the Estonian Institute of Humanities in Tallinn, Estonia. He and his wife Jackquelyn have three grown children and live in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
January 25, 2019
Very fine overview of the arts from an explicitly Christian viewpoint. Veith provides a brief overview of art history, a look at the contemporary arts (the book is almost 30 years old, so it's a little dated now), and a discussion of the arts and the church.
[Finished reading September 6, 2018.]
[Finished reading September 6, 2018.]
August 10, 2015
Though it begins as a scantily concealed rant against the stated emptiness and profanity of most current art, this book ends up making some valid and relevant points about art both past and present.
One of my worst nightmares is being trapped in an art museum with a conservative, uneducated Baptist preacher. I was initially quite certain that's what I had stumbled into, particularly when the author complained about abstract sculptures in his bank and pronounced skyscrapers ugly. (Has this man never seen a city skyline pushing up through a bank of fog? Or a skyscraper at sunset, reflecting pink and red and shooting towards the sky like a pillar of flame? Or at night, when it loses it's structure and becomes a sprinkle of lights, a small galaxy lighting up the city?)
But I agree with Mr Veith's insistence that art is more than just what an artist does, and that it should be held to standards of excellence rather than being only a cheap trick or a clever idea. I also enjoyed the brief tour through Biblical art and the chapter delving into the importance and value of art in the Bible.
The book is really too short to be of much value as far as art history is concerned, and I didn't agree with all of its conclusions. But it has some worthwhile things to say about art from a Christian perspective.
One of my worst nightmares is being trapped in an art museum with a conservative, uneducated Baptist preacher. I was initially quite certain that's what I had stumbled into, particularly when the author complained about abstract sculptures in his bank and pronounced skyscrapers ugly. (Has this man never seen a city skyline pushing up through a bank of fog? Or a skyscraper at sunset, reflecting pink and red and shooting towards the sky like a pillar of flame? Or at night, when it loses it's structure and becomes a sprinkle of lights, a small galaxy lighting up the city?)
But I agree with Mr Veith's insistence that art is more than just what an artist does, and that it should be held to standards of excellence rather than being only a cheap trick or a clever idea. I also enjoyed the brief tour through Biblical art and the chapter delving into the importance and value of art in the Bible.
The book is really too short to be of much value as far as art history is concerned, and I didn't agree with all of its conclusions. But it has some worthwhile things to say about art from a Christian perspective.
September 8, 2019
Decent. Veith’s biggest issue is an ethos issue. No book on art, aesthetics, and worldview is compete without acknowledging the Apollonian vs. Dionysian pendulum, yet he fails to mention it. His analysis of Aaron’s golden calf is laughably shallow. He even admits his knowledge of modern art is “woefully” inadequate, in which case he should either boost that knowledge or stop writing.
September 17, 2009
Lays a solid foundational understanding for the role of the arts in the life of the world, the church, and in the individual lives of God's people. A must-read for Christians laboring in the visual arts.
March 11, 2009
Very good.
June 9, 2021
I am not someone with skills as a visual artist. I am more the type to revere museums from a long running respect for long past school field trips. So while I know I like beautiful things, I am not necessarily articulate about why or even how I understand beauty. Now, however, State of the Arts has given me a real education in thoughts and concepts behind and about art from a Christian point of view.
This book attempts to discuss a wide array of artistic approaches. Though sometimes there are cultural assumptions that may no longer be quite so assumed (such as kitsch, do folks still speak in those terms?), this was an eye opener for me. I only wish the pictures could have been in color so I could better learn visually as well as mentally.
The concept that “we cannot escape the arts” because “they permeate our lives” has been a game-changer in a very positive sense! In fact, I feel like my understanding of my home and how I’m bringing up my kids is now on a better footing!
Great, great stuff on Bezalel and Scripture. Much of it from his earlier book, The Gift of Art, which I read ages ago. State of the Arts expands on that book with very interesting overviews of artistic thought—artistic reasoning even more than philosophy, a distinction which made this book much more easy to understand. The approach reminds me of his more recent book, Post-Christian, because issues are addressed while seeing Christian points on both sides of the spectrum. Very helpful!
Now, there is some dishing on controversial works, so you’d need to have a few explicit talks with your middle schoolers before just handing them this book. Still, this is another great book from Dr. Veith. It was published in 1991, but, since it only claims to go through Mapplethorpe, it is not as dated as it could be. Culture may be rushing quickly along its currents, but it seems to me that a vast majority of the insights remain evident and valid.
This book attempts to discuss a wide array of artistic approaches. Though sometimes there are cultural assumptions that may no longer be quite so assumed (such as kitsch, do folks still speak in those terms?), this was an eye opener for me. I only wish the pictures could have been in color so I could better learn visually as well as mentally.
The concept that “we cannot escape the arts” because “they permeate our lives” has been a game-changer in a very positive sense! In fact, I feel like my understanding of my home and how I’m bringing up my kids is now on a better footing!
Great, great stuff on Bezalel and Scripture. Much of it from his earlier book, The Gift of Art, which I read ages ago. State of the Arts expands on that book with very interesting overviews of artistic thought—artistic reasoning even more than philosophy, a distinction which made this book much more easy to understand. The approach reminds me of his more recent book, Post-Christian, because issues are addressed while seeing Christian points on both sides of the spectrum. Very helpful!
Now, there is some dishing on controversial works, so you’d need to have a few explicit talks with your middle schoolers before just handing them this book. Still, this is another great book from Dr. Veith. It was published in 1991, but, since it only claims to go through Mapplethorpe, it is not as dated as it could be. Culture may be rushing quickly along its currents, but it seems to me that a vast majority of the insights remain evident and valid.
November 15, 2022
Read for NSA's MFA.
Very similar content to Pearcey's "Saving Leonardo." A few new points here and there, but mostly a nice succinct review. Always feel that Doug Wilson could right the same content in 75 pages though.
Very similar content to Pearcey's "Saving Leonardo." A few new points here and there, but mostly a nice succinct review. Always feel that Doug Wilson could right the same content in 75 pages though.
abandoned
October 9, 2025decent, just not enough to get me out of my nonfiction reading slump.
August 5, 2007
Gene Edward Veith's hostility to the art world runs through this book like a greased pig. Written shortly after the Mapplethorpe / Serrano flap in the late '80s, the nostrils of Christian communities were still flaring. I guess they didn't like their tax dollars paying for photograph depicting a dude with bullwhip in his ass. Who knows? But this text is a knee-jerk reaction to these controversies disguised as one of those "world view" books for Christian kids packing for college.
Vieth's knowledge of art history is embarrassing and his exegesis of individual works is even worse. He even ridicules the minimalist movement while later lauding the work of a "Christian" minimalist he likely knows from church. Thus what we are left with is the shallowest critique a Christian could possibly muster: that which is produced by Christians is good and watch out for those secular boogiemen.
Boo !!!
Vieth's knowledge of art history is embarrassing and his exegesis of individual works is even worse. He even ridicules the minimalist movement while later lauding the work of a "Christian" minimalist he likely knows from church. Thus what we are left with is the shallowest critique a Christian could possibly muster: that which is produced by Christians is good and watch out for those secular boogiemen.
Boo !!!
February 5, 2009
Really insightful review of art and its relationship with culture.
July 28, 2024
One of the better Christian books on aesthetics that I have read, doubling as a nice introduction to art history.
April 16, 2021
I read this alongside my CC Ch2 student. CC requires only selected readings but I finished the book anyhow. Really insightful
September 19, 2019
There are things I really liked about the book, and several things that I disagreed with, as well.
Overall, he has some wonderful things to say about how Christians should support artists, hone a well-educated aesthetic sense, and go beyond the love of kitsch that is the bread and butter of many Christians. He highlights some worthwhile Christian modern artists as well, and I enjoyed learning about them.
I was less enthralled with his general statements about the state of the arts in the modern age. He makes a lot of sweeping generalizations, and often makes contradictory statements. He claims the only abstraction that is biblical or that can teach anything Christian is a highly ordered, repeated pattern type of abstraction, like that used for decoration. While he admits that abstraction can have some aesthetic value, he continually maintains that spiritual experiences and aesthetic experiences are completely separate, and that is a premise I just don't buy, because it does not stand up to my own personal spiritual experiences; some of which have been fully prompted by interactions with various artforms. I just don't think it is necessary to split our lives into spiritual versus secular. I feel like my life is largely spiritual, rather than compartmentalized into tidy sections. And much of his analyses of particular pieces he offers as bad examples show a lack of understanding on his part. For instance, he derides environmental and performance art, as well as Andres Serrano's controversial photographs of Christ photographed in urine. Yet, I have read wonderful, uplifting analyses of Christo's environmental works by Christian artist Makoto Fujimura, and a compelling case for Serrano's work by Christian critic David Siedell (Book: Who's Afraid of Modern Art). I am personally much more open to various art styles and modern manifestations of art, because I think you can learn something valuable from the majority of it, not just select pieces.
As an evangelical, he also believes in a lot of Biblical literalism I just can't quite support, as well as the creation ex nihilo, which is not a part of my sect's Christian theology. His theology definitely supports his argument, so consequently, I find myself at odds with some of his assumptions.
Overall, he has some wonderful things to say about how Christians should support artists, hone a well-educated aesthetic sense, and go beyond the love of kitsch that is the bread and butter of many Christians. He highlights some worthwhile Christian modern artists as well, and I enjoyed learning about them.
I was less enthralled with his general statements about the state of the arts in the modern age. He makes a lot of sweeping generalizations, and often makes contradictory statements. He claims the only abstraction that is biblical or that can teach anything Christian is a highly ordered, repeated pattern type of abstraction, like that used for decoration. While he admits that abstraction can have some aesthetic value, he continually maintains that spiritual experiences and aesthetic experiences are completely separate, and that is a premise I just don't buy, because it does not stand up to my own personal spiritual experiences; some of which have been fully prompted by interactions with various artforms. I just don't think it is necessary to split our lives into spiritual versus secular. I feel like my life is largely spiritual, rather than compartmentalized into tidy sections. And much of his analyses of particular pieces he offers as bad examples show a lack of understanding on his part. For instance, he derides environmental and performance art, as well as Andres Serrano's controversial photographs of Christ photographed in urine. Yet, I have read wonderful, uplifting analyses of Christo's environmental works by Christian artist Makoto Fujimura, and a compelling case for Serrano's work by Christian critic David Siedell (Book: Who's Afraid of Modern Art). I am personally much more open to various art styles and modern manifestations of art, because I think you can learn something valuable from the majority of it, not just select pieces.
As an evangelical, he also believes in a lot of Biblical literalism I just can't quite support, as well as the creation ex nihilo, which is not a part of my sect's Christian theology. His theology definitely supports his argument, so consequently, I find myself at odds with some of his assumptions.
June 7, 2025
I'm reading through my sadly neglected unread stacks of books so that I can pass them on and thus declutter my shelves.
This is the first one I picked up. It's a selection from our homeschool curriculum for the study of Western culture, which somehow I never read over the many years each successive child reached that level. My youngest child finished this course a couple of years ago and here I am, reading through it before sharing with another family.
I love the call for the church once again to welcome fine art and open to its own artists. I think that is happening more since this book was written.
It's still not clear to me how art intersects with worship because I don't believe great art is required to worship "in Spirit and in truth," and I'm not impressed by disdainful critiques of contemporary Christian music, much as I enjoy a well-crafted lyric myself and am distracted by ungrammatical writing or too much repetition. I have seen critiques of song lyrics that quote Scripture, which seems audacious. Anyway, that is a digression from the book. I just happen to know the author's taste in worship music.
I fully agree with the author's conclusion that art needs to be demystified and set free from snobbish elite conclaves who often weaponize it against the "hoi polloi" through shock, obscurantism, or gratuitous ugliness. He is right that the more the artistic process is witnessed and understood, the more artistic and art-appreciating our culture will be. I personally think bringing it back parallel with "crafts" is the perfect solution. Crafting a poem or painting is not all that different from crafting an original basket or quilt design, a beautiful piece of metalwork or carpentry. Crafted items, especially traditional items, often become objects of art in their own right. I wonder how the church might help demystify art by bringing it back to this level of the holiness in the ordinary, with mentors sharing the practice of their art/craft in fellowship and community.
This is the first one I picked up. It's a selection from our homeschool curriculum for the study of Western culture, which somehow I never read over the many years each successive child reached that level. My youngest child finished this course a couple of years ago and here I am, reading through it before sharing with another family.
I love the call for the church once again to welcome fine art and open to its own artists. I think that is happening more since this book was written.
It's still not clear to me how art intersects with worship because I don't believe great art is required to worship "in Spirit and in truth," and I'm not impressed by disdainful critiques of contemporary Christian music, much as I enjoy a well-crafted lyric myself and am distracted by ungrammatical writing or too much repetition. I have seen critiques of song lyrics that quote Scripture, which seems audacious. Anyway, that is a digression from the book. I just happen to know the author's taste in worship music.
I fully agree with the author's conclusion that art needs to be demystified and set free from snobbish elite conclaves who often weaponize it against the "hoi polloi" through shock, obscurantism, or gratuitous ugliness. He is right that the more the artistic process is witnessed and understood, the more artistic and art-appreciating our culture will be. I personally think bringing it back parallel with "crafts" is the perfect solution. Crafting a poem or painting is not all that different from crafting an original basket or quilt design, a beautiful piece of metalwork or carpentry. Crafted items, especially traditional items, often become objects of art in their own right. I wonder how the church might help demystify art by bringing it back to this level of the holiness in the ordinary, with mentors sharing the practice of their art/craft in fellowship and community.
March 9, 2023
An excellent book in understanding the Christian faith and how it relates to various forms of art and artists as well. I particularly like how the author delineates what is true art and what is not. I believe he is also correct in that there is actually only one Creator and that is God Himself. The book also helps one in understanding the worldview in which various artists operate from. Overall kudos to the author.
August 7, 2023
I skimmed this for an Art Appreciation course, so I didn't get the full goodness from it. And it's not a new book, but even so, with those caveats, I found the book articulate and thoughtful. The chapter "A Walk Through the Museum" is a valuable bite-sized history lesson. The author puts good words to how and why Christians can interact with art and artists, and why we should value beauty and creativity.
October 27, 2021
This book was so good! I went into it with the expectation of a dry but helpful book, but was so pleasantly surprised! (I think I see a recurring theme with my school books...) I would recommend it to any Christian, whether or not they are interested in art!
December 5, 2022
I thought the section with Bezalel was informative. That he is the standard of an good artist sets the bar quite high. It goes against the grain of modern society. Really appreciated the author's detail in expressing Bezalel's strengths and that he was led by the Spirit of God. He brought together beauty and truth in constructing the Tabernacle.
May 17, 2022
Excellent. I learned so much about art and culture.
September 11, 2024
Honestly, this was fascinating. It's nonfiction, of course it had some boring parts. But it was fascinating none the less.
April 1, 2012
A must read for all Christians. For those who love art and know some about it, and for those who doesn't care about it -maybe they would start caring a little bit more afterwards-. We cannot remain neutral in the way we appreciate art, and Veith does a great job in explaining this.
""Christianity is not a vague cosmic optimism, a utopian vision of everyone loving one another, a formula for success and happiness, or even a belief in a benevolent deity. It is rather the scandal of Christ Crucified."
"It is possible to turn even the most theological correct work of art into an idol."
"The church needs to validate its artists, not drive them away. Artists in turn need to be discipled by the church."
""Christianity is not a vague cosmic optimism, a utopian vision of everyone loving one another, a formula for success and happiness, or even a belief in a benevolent deity. It is rather the scandal of Christ Crucified."
"It is possible to turn even the most theological correct work of art into an idol."
"The church needs to validate its artists, not drive them away. Artists in turn need to be discipled by the church."
January 14, 2013
Veith is a great thinker and has a lot of good things to say as usual. Always a bit more philosophical that other Christian writers, I appreciate his style and his attention to competing worldviews (and here, denominations even). Art is all around us, whether it be music, literature, clothing, decorating, or gallery art. Yet few have put much time into thinking about it as Veith has. This book, while speaking mostly about gallery art, applies to all these other areas in a helpful way. It has helped me come to a fuller, more developed philosophy toward a Christian use of the arts. Recommended.
August 17, 2010
I really liked this book. Challenging the reader to think more deeply and clearly about art, Veith is evenhanded and biblical in his analysis. God is the Artist and He created man in His image. We are responsible to create for his glory but are not limited to "religious art" in our expression. It is a stirring reminder to christians to not abandon the arts or artists and a call to patronize good art.
September 12, 2015
It's hard to express how amazing this book is. Anyone who loves (or wants to love) art, would profit greatly from this book. I especially loved the chapters on Christian artists. Rouault and Knippers are both artists that I would love to use for evangelism encounters.
December 8, 2017
Really helpful survey and philosophy of art from a Christian perspective that is surprisingly balanced. Veith genuinely appreciates and sees the virtue in all sorts of approaches to art (that are not anti-art art).
March 13, 2009
Excellent
March 17, 2009
Good.
October 17, 2010
Read and reread time and again. This is very helpful - very Shaeferesque.
August 11, 2012
Art is big enough to incorporate all forms of creative expression. Unfortunately, it also holds up a mirror to our devolving culture.
August 20, 2012
I found this book helpful in understanding the arts from a christian perspective.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews