Placemaking and the Arts - (Studies in Theology and the Arts) by Jennifer Allen Craft (Paperback)
About this item
Highlights
- We are, each one of us, situated in a particular place.As embodied creatures, as members of local communities and churches, as people who live in a specific location in the world, we all experience the importance of place.
- About the Author: Jennifer Allen Craft (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of humanities and theology at Point University in West Point, Georgia, where she teaches courses in theology, philosophy, and the arts.
- 280 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Christianity
- Series Name: Studies in Theology and the Arts
Description
About the Book
What role does place play in the Christian life? In this STA volume, Jennifer Allen Craft gives a practical theology of the arts, contending that the arts place us in time, space, and community in ways that encourage us to be fully and imaginatively present in a variety of contexts: the natural world, our homes, our worshiping communities, and society.
Book Synopsis
We are, each one of us, situated in a particular place.
As embodied creatures, as members of local communities and churches, as people who live in a specific location in the world, we all experience the importance of place. But what role does place play in the Christian life and how might our theology of place be cultivated?
In this Studies in Theology and the Arts volume, Jennifer Allen Craft argues that the arts are a significant form of placemaking in the Christian life. The arts, she contends, place us in time, space, and community in ways that encourage us to be fully and imaginatively present in a variety of contexts: the natural world, our homes, our worshiping communities, and society. In so doing, the arts call us to pay attention to the world around us and invite us to engage in responsible practices in those places.
Through this practical theology of the arts, Craft shows how the arts can help us by cultivating our theological imagination, giving shape to the Christian life, and forming us more and more into the image of Christ.
The Studies in Theology and the Arts series encourages Christians to thoughtfully engage with the relationship between their faith and artistic expression, with contributions from both theologians and artists on a range of artistic media including visual art, music, poetry, literature, film, and more.
Review Quotes
"After a couple of generations of neglect and disinvestment, I'm delighted to see that place is being rediscovered within the Christian community as an important aspect of human flourishing. Placemaking and the Arts makes a significant contribution to this movement. In this book Craft develops a comprehensive theological framework for thinking about how the arts can help place us in time, space, and community. And she makes a convincing case for how art must play a critical role in any recovery of place. Many have expressed concern about the place of art in contemporary life; Craft helpfully extends this conversation to consider the role of art in place (and placemaking). Highly recommended."
--Eric O. Jacobsen, senior pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Tacoma, author of The Space Between: A Christian Engagement with the Built Environment"In this marvelous book, Jennifer Craft shows us how God is in the business of making grace happen in our respective places on earth--this soil, this house, this street, this climate, this city, this people. What she offers the reader is not only a sorely needed theology of place but also a compelling vision for how the arts inspire us to create hospitable places that anticipate our life together in a fully emplaced kingdom economy."
--W. David O. Taylor, Fuller Theological Seminary"Jennifer Allen Craft's Placemaking and the Arts is an elegant and illuminating meditation on the importance of our lived environments. We are called, as both stewards and sojourners, to be deeply present to God's sensory creation--first by recognizing our rootedness within it and second by cultivating it as we were made to do. For Craft, the arts should be understood as the fruit of this connection and care, adorning and shaping the world for all of God's children. Drawing on a wide range of theological insights, Placemaking and the Arts points the way toward more humane and hospitable environments today."
--Katie Kresser, professor of art at Seattle Pacific UniversityAbout the Author
Jennifer Allen Craft (PhD, University of St. Andrews) is associate professor of humanities and theology at Point University in West Point, Georgia, where she teaches courses in theology, philosophy, and the arts. Her work has been featured on Transpositions and in Contemporary Art and the Church: A Conversation Between Two Worlds.
