Okay. A sister (who shall remain nameless) is trying to get her other (equally nameless) sisters to get off their duffs and get back to blogging so she can have something to read when she ought to be working.
Just kidding. The other sisters have adorable children whom their aunts miss every single minute they're not around, and we're all desperate for photos and stories of their adorableness. [I agree with her demands in their cases: get back to posting, ladies! I've started hearing more about these children from third-party sources than from you. Fix this.]
So what does the childless sister have to offer information-wise? Well, to be honest, I think I haven't developed the necessary blogger's spirit yet. The fact that my posts can be read by EVERYONE IN THE ENTIRE WORLD somehow inhibits my desire to write about anything too personal. Of course, the fact that my blog is so anonymous my own father didn't realize who it belonged to when I directed him to it should give me some comfort. Well, I'll see what I can do.
Here's a snippet of something I was thinking about today: Inside Catholic has an article about Catholic art, which was a very good read (though I feel like I walked into a conversation half-way along. Anybody else feel like they need a bit more of an introduction to Degas' approach to painting and the Impressionist movement in general?)
The post in the combox that mentions Kinkade made me think of this awesome post from a lady who, sadly, has retired from the blogging business. A bit of back story before you read it: the day before, she posted a visual comparison of great artists, ending with a painting by Thomas Kinkade. This sparked a flood of commentary by readers, including the two she quotes at the beginning of this post.
Yes, I'm the Jen she's referring to. Ah, the fame. Also, Sister Mary Martha commented on my last post. ...and did I mention James Lileks once included an entire e-mail from me in one of his columns? I'm a virtual celebrity. :)
About Me
- Jen
- I'm a 30-something Catholic, pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology, and looking for ways to live life fully while dealing with chronic pain. I started this blog as a way to collect beautiful things as I find them: photos, songs, recipes, blog posts, and the record of my own encounter with grace amidst the pain.
4 comments:
Are you kidding me? Pulling out a blog post not 10 minutes after being instructed to do it? You're a natural!
Heh. Thanks for caving to the unnamed sister's demands. You are right; I'm desperate for baby pictures and stories, and I figure that you must know at least slightly more there than I do, anyway...though then again, I spent the day with Dad and John on Saturday, so I guess I have stories to tell, too.
But I also agree with the anonymity thing; now that I'm blogging for a job, I try to be extra-scrupulous about posting personal info anywhere else. Not because I'm worried what others might think, but because I don't want people who know me only as a blogger on IC.com to come traipsing through my personal life, thankyouverymuch. I was just Googling around for some news to post this morning when I came across my name randomly cited somewhere else -- I had no idea I was being linked to, and I don't particularly like that feeling. Heh.
As for the meat of your post, well done you! Slagging of Kinkade yay! I love Simcha's line here:
"But what about those cottages? See how the windows glow? I do like a nice warm hearth sending out a gentle, welcoming radiance.
"However, this usually happens at night. When it's dark. Sorry, the shade of the tree doesn't count. I'm afraid those houses must be on fire -- such a tragedy! They were clearly new, too. I hope the little plastic people who lived there got out okay."
HA!
By the way, she might be retired from blogging, but by happy coincidence she has an article going up on IC.com this very afternoon. Keep your eyes peeled! Might give you more blogging fodder. ;)
I was struck in particular by Warren's claim that the nude was a "peculiarly Catholic invention...inconceivable under any other regime." I would have liked to see him back that up.
Not being much of an art history person, I hesitate to speak definitively about it, but I seem to remember nudes being around before Catholicism. Or perhaps I'm missing his point.
Father Barry, somebody else took issue with that exact point in the comments on his article. Certainly the nude figure was central to Greek and Roman art (at least, in sculpture.)
But maybe his point holds up if you only compare art in the traditions of major world religions. I think that probably would show a lot about the different faiths' attitudes towards the human body. I would expect that our Incarnational and sacramental Faith would win hands down in that area.
I thought the comparison with Protestant-inspired art was also very interesting, and for the same reasons.
Yeah, I think you're probably right about his point. Not so much that "No one did nudes before Catholics," but that only Catholics as a religious group would do them appropriately?
Slightly confusing...
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