http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/ Van Gogh Sea 1 Sat, 13 Aug 2005 16:55:02 PDT http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Art Spirituality Religion & Beliefs http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/6.html Sun, 14 Aug 2005 00:47:48 GMT I have been a father exactly for 9 weeks. A highlight of this experience has to do with ways in which I have re-claimed what fatherhood means for me--these are ways in which I have consciously attempted to deconstruct the skeleton of patriarchy in my closet. As a father, I have learned to integrate and claim the mother in me: the one that nurtures unconditionally to a sacred human being. I have learned to embody one of the most sacred callings: to be nurturer, to be a care-giver, to be proud of the feminine spirit inherent in all of us. On a spiritual level, I find this re-claiming of... (more) http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=6 http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/5.html Tue, 25 Jan 2005 22:23:46 GMT ...I will take the risk, I will push off to the open sea. And you will immediately get a certain somber earnestness--something mighty serious will rise up within you--one looks at the quiet coast, all right, it is pretty enough--but the secret of the depth, the intimate, serious charm of the Ocean of an artist's life--with Something on High over it--will take hold of you. (L339, Letters 2:203.) Van Gogh scholar, Cliff Edwards, viewed Vincent Van Gogh's perception of nature as simultaneously real and symbolic. His claim is best viewed in Vincent's quote above. The sea that one sees at... (more) http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=5 http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/4.html Fri, 21 Jan 2005 19:48:23 GMT My recent aha: Vincent Van Gogh's spirituality seems to hold a dynamic tension between risk and having ground under one's feet. He invites Theo to become an artist like himself, for instance, and yet at the same time, he tells his brother that having a family and being a parent is a very sacred vocation. In this dynamic tension, Vincent invites us to move with the "ebb and flow"--to be fully aware of the present moment and fully participate in life. Donnel Miller-Mutia donnelmutia@hotmail.com http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=4 http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/3.html Thu, 20 Jan 2005 06:09:04 GMT I begin with the premise that the inward shift(s) that catalyzed Vincent Van Gogh's spiritual quest is best represented by his interest in the Sea imagery (perhaps as an archetype?), which also involves boats and fishermen. This shift is a movement towards self-liberation and creativity, towards the integration of his many interests (Bible, nature, novels of his day, Japanese art). If we use the Sea imagery as a clue to his calling towards creativity, then a numerical breakdown of Vincent's boat paintings in specific geographical locations in his life makes sense. The changes that... (more) http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=3 http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/2.html Tue, 18 Jan 2005 23:44:26 GMT Check this out! A very fascinating press release article from the Van Gogh Museum, which can be found at any of these webpages: (1) http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/1015-newsdb/nieuws?action=nieuws_view&id=263&cat_id=4 (2) http://www.codart.nl/exhibitions/details/751/ (3) http://www.absolutearts.com/artsnews/2004/06/18/32136.html This article adds a different dimension to the significance to the Sea imagery in Van Gogh's paintings. http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=2 http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/archive/1.html Mon, 17 Jan 2005 20:17:47 GMT When I was in grad school I wrote my thesis on Vincent Van Gogh's theology, particularly his interest in the Sea motif, which for him symbolized as an invitation to spiritual life: a life where we are called to risk, to go beyond the borders of our familiar ground. A few clues led me to this conclusion. First, Vincent wrote about the sea imagery a number of times in his letters. Second, written within the same month when he was in Saintes-Maries to paint "Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer," he made a comment about Eugene Delacroix's "Christ in the Boat on the Sea of... (more) http://vangoghsea.blogdrive.com/comments?id=1