Faith like cardboard

     I grew up calling it cardboard.

     "Bring me that cardboard box!" someone would say.
     
     That was until one of my students corrected me. I suggested she screen print onto 'cardboard'. She looked at the paper in my hand and said, "Actually, Mr. Carter, that's corrugated paper. Cardboard is just one of the layers- like a cereal box."
     "Oh," I blinked.
     "That's O.K. Most people make that mistake." Her Dad sold corrugated paper so she knew more on the subject than most teenage girls.

     Greg Card paints on corrugated paper. I was surprised when he told me because Greg is big on 'permanence'... something corrugated is not known for. He stresses that an artist's work should outlive the artist- art should be archival. "The problem is air," he explained. "Corrugated breaks down when allowed to interact with air. Seal out the air and the temporal becomes permanent." Varnish is a good sealant. 

     Why paint on corrugated paper? Here are a few reasons Greg gave:

     - the paper is abundantly available, and free
     - the surface is interesting to work on, sometimes the printed side adds an element
     - corrugated paper is both rigid and light
     - painting on 'previously owned' corrugated paper is an artful way to recycle (I imagine a buyer's face as they look at the back of the newly purchased painting and discover they are holding a piece from a toilet box- which I am currently painting a series on)

     Corrugated is from the Latin- corrugare- to wrinkle up. As a verb, it means to draw or bend into folds or alternate furrows and ridges (dictionary.com). Corrugated paper is composed of a 'wrinkled' layer of cardboard sandwiched between smooth layers. It is this hidden layer of ridges and valleys that provides strength.

Creation

Day one

     My life is corrugated... a series of highs and lows, covered by a smooth veneer, but frayed, with worn spots in the corners. There is strength that comes from weathering a valley storm, and there is renewal that comes from a mountaintop. 

     Sometimes I think my faith is like cardboard- a thin, flat cereal box. What I want is corrugated faith: layered, dimensional, with places that go deep while reaching high. Corrugated faith is being wrinkled up with God.

 

Creation

Day Six

     Thanks to Greg, I have begun painting on corrugated paper. I rescued several pieces from a nearby dumpster. The surface is smooth, until I tear it... which I do. The strength should be revealed.

Shrewd

Concept Sketch

Shrewd

In Progress

Outreach and the Artist

photo by

Emma Stojancic

"My point is not that it's possible to make a connection between the arts and Jesus. My point is that there already is a connection. This is a theological reality."

Con Campbell

     Con Campbell plays jazz, lectures in theology, and likes coffee. Thus begins the bio blurb on the cover of Con Campbell's latest book, Outreach And The Artist, Sharing the Gospel With the Arts. After reading the book, I thought- 'so this is what happens when a professional jazz musician (four CDs to date)/New Testament Greek scholar (numerous books and journal articles in print) talks about art and faith...wow.'

     The dialogue between artists and the Christian church has been awkward, at best, far too long. Outreach and the Artist is a book that can help the conversation move forward. Con Campbell offers practical counsel to 'both sides', artists and clergy, with the grace of a jazz artist and the intelligence of a University Professor. The book also features interviews with visual and performing artists, asking questions like, "What struggles have you had as a Christian engaged with the arts?" and "Concerning other artists you know, what is the single biggest barrier stopping them from coming to Christ?"

"... the most effective people for outreach into artistic communities are fellow artists. And the more artistic credibility they have the better."

Con Campbell

      

     Con Campbell has credibility- among artists and Bible scholars. Whether you are an artist, a pastor, or someone in between, I recommend reading Outreach and the Artist.

And may the conversation continue. 

     

You can hear Con Campbell play in this video: