|
|
|
Art
|
|
God created our universe and our ability to create, and He generously gave us an image of Himself in the form of Christ. As imitators of the Image and the Creator, Christians have a unique responsibility to understand God's aspects as both Creator and Image. As a visual expression of the Godhead on earth, Christ taught us the importance of bearing witness to God and the importance of striving to imitate God's love in all we do. As creators, we must strive to understand God, who is the Good, the True and the Beautiful. When we reflect His goodness, truth, and beauty by creating, we draw on our God-given nature.
|
|
|
The twenty-first century Christian is, in many ways, no different from man at the dawn of time, during the Roman era, in the midst of Renaissance, or any other historical period. Man has made images as a means of exalting people and activities of worldly significance, in thanksgiving for abundance, and as prayers to the divine throughout all ages of history. In today's culture, this manifests itself man makes images that praise celebrities and applaud a materialistic lifestyle. Many artists also use image as a means for social and political commentary, highlighting the problems of our world without offering hope. Learning to embrace the basic human activity of image-making and align image-making with the pursuit of glorifying God is an important task for today's Christians. The image is a powerful vehicle for the communication of Goodness, Truth, and Beauty. Extracting these gems of truth from art of the past is an essential part of playing an informed and productive role in today's
increasingly visual culture. Understanding our spiritual and historical foundation in the arts enables us to more effectively communicate Goodness, Truth, and Beauty to today's society.
|
|
Enduring Goodness, Truth, and Beauty exist in the content and technique of the art of many masters who have preceded us. Atlanta Classical Christian Academy provides students with an artistic foundation within the academic tradition. Grammar school art focuses on establishing basic drawing skills. Students learn how to produce realistic drawings by focusing on the elements of shape, basic principles of design and composition, using visual reference materials, and incorporating artistic license. ACCA seeks to give every student the basic skills of representational drawing before they graduate into the Logic stage of the curriculum, while integrating those skills into both the general curriculum and an art historical context.
|
|
". . . because the image of the Trinity was made in man, that in this way man should be the image of the one true God." - St. Augustine, On the Trinity
|
|
