What We’re Reading: Image Journal
Image Journal: Art – Faith – Mystery
My copy of the Fall 2007 issue of Image has survived several moves and currently lives in the bookcase with the texts I use when I teach seminary courses. The more recent issues of Image are downstairs on the stack of newspapers and books waiting to be read and absorbed. Why tote a back copy of a lesser-known literary journal around for 16-odd years? And keep stacks of copies next to the fireplace? An easy answer is that Image is gorgeous. The cover always features an intriguing piece of visual art. Inside, printed on weighty paper, there are images and poetry and short stories and essays and a conversation — each that explore the intersection of art and faith.
A better answer to the question of why hang on to old issues is that Image almost always does what it sets out to do, namely “foster contemporary art and writing that grapple with the mystery of being human by . . . celebrating work that explores religious faith and spiritual questions.” Each issue includes works of both visual and literary art.
For example, the Winter 2022 issue features Rowan Williams and Shane McCrae in conversation about their poetry and the ways that both poetry and theology provide space and language for thinking about God. In the same issue, Wendy Kiyomi writes about the pain of walking with an adopted child, unable to be healed. One of the visual artists featured is John Descarfino, whose recent work depicts windows and invites an encounter with how we see. Complementing the visual art work, the issue also includes a conversation with curator Aaron Rosen who has transformed a 19th-century parsonage in Maine into an art gallery. And as in every issue, poetry graces multiple pages. My favorite in Winter 2022 is “The Situation” by Leslie Williams.
Image is published four times a year by the Center for Religious Humanism located at Seattle Pacific University. The masthead includes the disclaimer that the “views and opinions expressed in the journal do not necessarily reflect those of the university trustees, administration, faculty, or staff.” I get that disclaimer. I don’t always understand — or even like — the images or the writing. Sometimes I shut the thing and put it away until later. The content in Image can be encouraging, challenging, awe-inspiring — and sometimes perplexing . Which is okay. And which is another reason to keep back issues around — available for return visits.
The content in Image can be encouraging, challenging, awe-inspiring — and sometimes perplexing .
The best artists work to tell the truth, but as Emily Dickinson famously wrote, artists “tell it slant.” And in so doing help the rest of us to hear and see. Perhaps we won’t hear or see the truth immediately, but that truth, like sunlight seen through shadow, will eventually break through.
Regardless of how the content of any given issue is received, Image demonstrates that fine art can originate from people with serious religious sensibilities. Indeed, the broader purpose of Image is crucial: “Image is animated by our vision to be a vibrant thread in the fabric of culture, contributing to mainstream literary and artistic communities by demonstrating the vitality of contemporary art and literature invigorated by religious faith.” Of the many gifts of the Church to our divided world, this is one of the most important.
Artists and scholars across disciplines sing the praises of Image. One prominent theologian wrote:
“Image occupies a unique place in the religion/arts world. No other journal manages to maintain such academic integrity while at the same time avoiding theological jargon. No other journal manages to offer such depth while still remaining comprehensible to a general readership. No other journal manages to be so provocative while also being so full of common sense. And no other journal in this field begins to match Image for quality of presentation. A major achievement with a rich and promising future.”
— Jeremy Begbie, Thomas A. Langford Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School