Art & Christianity II

The goal is for the participants to understand the past and present times channeled through a Christian worldview perspective in order to have a stronger impact in the future. We hope to inspire the participants to learn to think with a critical mind so that they may develop a discerning spirit. The students will study the video presentation "How Shall We Then Live," and the discussion groups and lectures will stem from this framework. The studio sessions include architectural design, mosaics, stained glass, charcoal drawing, painting and more. The studio projects are designed as a method of applying the principles taught in the lectures.

“As in the general conduct of life, so in matters of the mind, one must learn to discriminate. If you avoid studying things with which you disagree, you will be naïve about what most of the world thinks. On the other hand, if you study everything—but without a critical mind—you will end up accepting by default all that the world (and especially your own moment of history) thinks.”
(Paraphrased from Dr. Francis Schaeffer, How Shall We Then Live?, Fleming H. Revell Publishing Co., 1977)

Day 1: Ancient History

• Literature: Moses' The Pentateuch – study the Word of God not only as scripture but also the literary genius of the writer
• Music Appreciation: The Psalmists and the influence of the Psalms in western music
• Art Appreciation: Jewish Tabernacle, Egyptian Pyramids and Babylonian Ishtar Gate
• Studio Activity: After spending the day studying architecture, the students select an architectural design project in which they are assigned to be part of an architectural team with a contract to draw floor plans and build a scale model of their design.
• Worldview: Supernaturalism vs. Theism

Day 2: The Roman Age

• Literature: The Writings of Virgil – The Aeneid
• Music Appreciation: The influence of Pythagoras—the application of mathematics to music theory
• Art Appreciation: Greek and Roman Art, the Roman city of Pompeii, the importance of studying 1^st century Roman city in light of our Christianity. Learn about the Romans through their art. The Roman Mosaics.
• Studio Activity: Using glass, tile and stones, the students create, grout, and seal their own mosaics.
• Worldview: Study of Polytheism and the anthropocentric society

Day 3: The Middle Ages

• Literature: Cervantes Don Quixote
• Music Appreciation: Gregorian Chants
• Art Appreciation: Gothic Art—learn about the architectural design of the Gothic cathedrals, the height and beauty created by the stained glass windows, and the need for flying buttresses to maintain stability in these large structures.
• Studio Activity: Stained Glass Windows—using liquid lead and liquid glass coloring, create a transferable stained glass design
• Worldview: Evaluate the social, political, and intellectual uncertainty of the Middle Ages

Day 4: Renaissance

• Literature: Dante's Divine Comedy—why the Divine Comedy isn’t funny...
• Music Appreciation: Italian Renaissance Music—the invention of orchestration and movable type
• Art Appreciation: Michelangelo and Da Vinci—the genius of the Renaissance man, and yet the dilemma of humanism
• Studio Activity: Architectural drawings-grid of floor plans.
• Worldview: Biblical thinking vs. pagan thought

Day 5: The Reformation

• Literature: Milton's Paradise Lost—together we will explore the paradise that Milton lost
• Music Appreciation: Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel, and the peak of German Reformation music
• Art Appreciation: Rembrandt and Dürer—study the intensity and emotion of the artists of the Reformation and the impact they had on the time
• Studio Activity: Landscaping Design- drawings and scale models
• Worldview: The threat of Christian humanism

Day 6: Neo-Classic Period

• Literature: America's true epic comes to life in Herman Melville's Moby Dick
• Music Appreciation: The music of Beethoven, Haydn, Mozart
• Art Appreciation: Recognize the revival of the old classic period of the ancient Greek and Roman times during this New Classic period through the Italian art of David
• Studio Activity: Architectural Design
• Worldview: The Age of Reason—Enlightenment

Day 7: Romantic Period

• Literature: Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe—relive timeless chivalry with this selection
• Music Appreciation: Listen to the music of Mendelssohn and Dvorak
• Art Appreciation: Discover the difference between the emotionalism of the Romanic artists and the intellectualism of the Classical artists
• Studio Activity: Final work on architectural scale model.
• Worldview: Enlightenment

Day 8: Age of Fragmentation

• Literature: The fragmentation in literature is evaluated in T. S. Eliot's Wasteland
• Music Appreciation: Influence of Beethoven's last Quartets, the chance music of Cage
• Art Appreciation: Kandinsky and Matisse and the extremes of abstraction; the chance painting of Jackson Pollock and the fragmentation of painting by Picasso
• Studio Activity: Art Show of Architectural Design, Scale Model and Floor Plans.
• Worldview: Post Modernism

The classes meet from 9:00 until 3:30 each day. The maximum number of participants is 20. The day is broken up into a combination of lectures and discussions interspersed with art studio activity periods. The cost includes all supplies needed for the day including a binder with all the handouts, all the supplies for each art activity, and the use of videos and all instructional materials. It does not include lunch, and all participants are asked to bring a sack lunch each day.

The cost is $225.00 per child to attend all eight sessions, and $35.00 per child to attend daily sessions. There is no additional charge for a parent attending. Call for family discounts.

Email or phone Malinda if you would like to schedule this worldview camp in your area. You can contact Malinda through email at: malinda@kingdomacademyofthearts.com or call at 931-294-8083.

Register for this camp