Meeting Christ in Faith and Art: Exhibition Introduction

angel sculpture
“Angel of God” by Karlie Garrity

This exhibition is no longer on display at the William H. Hannon Library – this post is maintained for historical purposes.

From January 22 – May 4, 2018, visit level 3 of the William H. Hannon Library to see our Spring 2018 Exhibition, “Meeting Christ in Faith and Art.” This exhibition sets artwork by LMU students alongside objects from the library’s Archives and Special Collections. Works from our own collections include a work by German Expressionist Max Thalmann, a sculpture by Salvador Dali, and a prayer book from the Del Valle family, to name a few. The student works were all created by undergraduates enrolled in Cecilia González-Andrieu’s THST course, “Meeting Christ in Faith and Art,” over the past three years.

About the Exhibition

Written by Cecilia González-Andrieu (Department of Theological Studies), exhibition curator and author of Bridge to Wonder: Art as a Gospel of Beauty (Baylor University Press, 2012).

“Jesus lives!” Convinced of his continued presence, his friends recounted how Jesus of Nazareth, a charismatic young Rabbi, had ushered in the Reign of God. Moved by his radical love, they committed to a life following him, marked by forgiveness, mercy and care of the most vulnerable. As the early communities felt time pass dimming the experience of life with Jesus, they turned to art. Beginning with coded symbols, embedded in poetic hymns and rituals and flowering into some of the most exquisite creative works produced by humanity, multiple generations have engaged the power of the aesthetic for complex theological exploration.

Discovering ways to move the human heart while probing what it means to believe or to struggle with doubt, we continue retelling the story of Jesus and the faith he inspired, interpreting it in unexpected contexts, and nurturing one another with wonder-creating kinship across time, distances, languages and customs.

This exhibition presents the conversation of Christology about “Who is Jesus?” through two types of works: masterpieces from our permanent collection and new works made by undergraduate students in the theology course “Meeting Christ in Faith & Art.” As we study Christology, we explore art-making as a way to theologize. The works are united in their quest to know this Jesus, the Christ, who longs to make God’s vision for creation known and to invite all to share in building it. The students are passing along the tradition of the living Christ while wrestling with what he means to them in their contexts. They invite us to experience the wonderment of their art-making and to share in the renewal and discovery of Jesus Christ’s transforming aliveness here, today and made present with us.