Catholic Artists Say Art Must Reflect Liturgical Renewal

At a recent symposium on the campus of the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts, leading Catholic artists agreed that liturgical piety is at the foundation of a culture of beauty.  When art and architecture—and the culture as a whole—is deeply rooted in the liturgy it serves, liturgical piety is reinforced.

Father Thomas Kocik, contributor to the New Liturgical Movement web site and former editor of Antiphon, chaired the discussion.  He began the evening by emphasizing this link between the liturgy and culture.

The State of the Arts and the Restoration of Beauty: An Interview with David Clayton

From Ignatius Insight

David Clayton is Thomas More College’s Artist-in-Residence and is an internationally known painter of icons. David trained in natural sciences at Oxford University, and studied drawing and painting at Charles Cecil Studios at Florence, Italy. He was taught iconography by Aidan Hart in England. He has received commissions at churches and monasteries in Europe and the US, including the London Oratory, and has illustrated a variety of Catholic books, most recently one by scripture scholar Scott Hahn. He has recently appeared on EWTN talking about his work and the Way of Beauty programme. David has also worked with Catholic TV in Boston on a 13-part series called The Way of Beauty.

I recently spoke with David about the state of art in the West and some of the means by which he and others are working to restore an authentic vision of beauty, goodness, and truth in art, both in the Church and in the secular realm. Here is our conversation.

Ignatius Insight: What has been the state of the fine arts, in general, in the West since the middle of the twentieth century?

David Clayton: The best way of summing up the whole thing is a quote from Pope Benedict XVI in his book, The Spirit of the Liturgy: “The Enlightenment pushed faith into a kind of intellectual and even social ghetto. Contemporary culture turned away from the faith and trod another path, so that faith took flight in historicism, the copying of the past, or else attempted compromise or lost itself in resignation and cultural abstinence.”

From the middle of the 18th century onwards we see a steady separation of the culture of faith and the broader culture. This means that in the context of art, mainstream art reflected the values of the Enlightenment. Initially, the difference was small. Up to the end of the 19th century, the basic training of artists was the same but the connection with Catholic theology, philosophy and liturgical principles was lost. Stylistically, the manifestation of this was very subtle but real. In the 19th century you see a dualism reflected in a divergence of artistic styles from a Christian balance in the center: on the one hand there was cold and over polished sterile “realism”, or on the other hand an over-emotional Romanticism. This should be contrasted with17th century baroque art, which is authentically Catholic and has a balance of resemblance to natural appearances and idealization.

Thomas More College Reviving Gregorian Chant Through Choir, Summer Workshop

Over the past several decades, the use of sacred music in Mass has greatly diminished. Choirs have been dismissed, and polyphonic music has been abandoned.  Most Catholics today have had no exposure to Gregorian Chant—the type of music that the General Instruction of the Roman Missal says “holds pride of place because it is proper to the Roman liturgy.”

Pope Benedict XVI has been marked by new efforts to promote excellence in sacred music. In 2006, for example, the Holy Father said that, “An authentic updating of sacred music can take place only in the lineage of the great tradition of the past, of Gregorian chant and sacred polyphony.”

To answer the Church’s call for a renewal of sacred music, the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts announced today that it has launched several programs aimed at restoring an appreciation for the history and beauty of sacred music, as well as its role in leading to greater devotion and reverence to Christ during Mass. 

Nearly Half of NH College's Student Body Travels to DC, Marches for Life

Nearly half of the student body from the Thomas More College of Liberal Arts made the 10 hour trek south to Washington, DC to attend the 2011 March for Life.

“Students left campus at 6:30 last night and arrived in Washington early this morning,” said Annie Clark, Thomas More College’s Director of Student Life.  “We are returning to New Hampshire in just a few hours.  We will be away from campus for 36 hours, and 21 of those hours will have been on a bus—all because we think it is vitally important to stand for life.”

“I am proud of our students,” said Thomas More College President Dr. William Fahey. “This is a tremendous act of bearing witness to the culture of life.  Our College’s commitment to defend the sanctity of life can be clearly seen in the actions of its students.  I am confident that young people like this will lead in our country the renewal of culture.”