Music of the Spheres — February 2021
The title of the show, "Music of the Spheres," comes from an ancient notion that as earth, stars, planets, & galaxies moved and fulfilled their intended purpose, they created musical harmonies that were pleasing worship to the creator. (We are leaving this history and the Pythagorean philosophy and medieval folk cultural background to you to parse out during your bedtime reading.) Samantha Ewing’s amazing acrylic painting in this show most clearly connects with the exhibition title. More broadly, the main meaning for our show will be that humanity, made in the image of God, was created to worship, and music making reflects His imprint and purpose for us as people. The many varied and amazing musical displays and instruments will underscore this message. Not surprisingly, many different artistic threads developed for this exhibit; so, please plan to spend some time with each piece and text.
If you wish to get in touch with an artist for more information about a work, a commission, or purchase, just email the curator at mike@thresholdart.com
Blessings,
The Chapel Creatives
"Job 38:7”
...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?
—Job 38:7
Acrylic Manipulated With Water & Alcohol
Artist: Samantha Ewing
The impetus was a video I had seen years ago produced by NASA. The footage that had been gathered was accompanied by the most remarkable sound. The sound was attributed to the stars. The Heavens truly do proclaim the glory of God!
"Heart of Gold"
Watercolor and Suminagashi Ink
Guest Artist: Jerry Singer
Inside everything is a Heart of Gold. Sometimes you have to search at just the right angle to see it, whether in ourselves or in others. This guitar piece was inspired by that search, as we try to find and share that same beauty in the joy of music. Look for the gold, and let it find you.
“Exuberance”
Acrylic
Artist: Claudia Finn
Exuberance is what this piece is about, and a connection to the instrument. Music can express so many emotions and a worship song at its best expresses a sense of exuberance about God. My motive was to express both the angel’s connection to the horn and her desire to express exuberance for the Lord.
"Tiple: An Imagined History About The Image of God"
This instrument, a 10-string ukulele called a “tiple,” finds its origins in Columbia but was popular in the United States in the 1920’s. Lyon & Healy (primarily a maker of harps today) crafted in in Chicago and sold it under their Washburn brand. I found this 100-year-old instrument in a thrift store in North Carolina, and after a little research realized that in excellent condition, it would sell for $1700 today. Unfortunately, as you can see, this tiple’s condition is poor. So, much for a quick profitable resale!
As this instrument hung in my art studio, I began to look at it with new interest. It’s history, probably forever a mystery, for some crazy reason stirred my imagination. If you look at the head, you can see that an amateur luthier replaced the tiple’s 10-keys with an 8-sting mandolin head. The handiwork is primitive but seems to have worked. What happened? Was the tiple stepped on and head stock cracked one early morning… before the oil lamps were lit in some country cabin?
The mandolin was played hard. The bridge is broken. A handmade pick guard (not found on a tiple) was added to protect the spuce top and a plumber’s o-ring is used to protect the wood at the strap pin. The player of this guitar was not sophisticated, but he or she was committed to keeping the music coming. Music was loved even if resources were thin.
Finally, the red paint that decorates the instrument, though clearly unfortunate to most eyes, makes a clear statement about the musician’s simple appreciation & child-like celebration of how this mix of wood and metal allowed expression of heart-deep feelings.
These thoughts take me back to the “imago dei” beginnings of who we are as people. Fallen and sometimes damaged, we are made in God’s creative image and made to worship our Maker…with a song.
"Ukulele Confessional"
Brushed Ink and Watercolor
Artist: Mike Lane
This fanciful, Daliesque painting of a stringed instrument sort of took on a life of its own during the creative process. Thanks for your patience in giving it a closer look. Symbolic references abound. Both the headstock and bridge have an exaggerated number of tuning keys and string posts and bridge pins. These represent impossibilities, frustrated opportunities and stressful obligations to bring the instrument to a usable state. This thread is further developed by the way the picture is mounted in fragments; these separate the image into two parts that make tuning most string placements impossible. A playful inclusion of hop scotch (along with a couple of crazy tuning keys) in higher registers of the neck signify immaturity and naivete.
For me, this image pictures my own teen journey that experimented with guitar playing as a way to shore up my weak sense of personal identity. This misguided adventure taxed music with a weight that it was never meant to bear. So, in the end, my music inspiration slumped and failed, but this disappointment became part of my testimony that led me to the Lord. That’s why the piece is called a “confessional.”
In fact, I hope the message of “Ukulele Confessional” will remind us all, young and old, to use our artistic gifts well while not expecting them to bear a weight that they were never intended to bear. As Jesus followers, our sure identity is in Christ. There is great artistic freedom in this creative sweet spot. As a member of the family of God, we can create with joy and without fear.
"Trumpet and Trombone"
Vintage Instruments
These two well used instruments bring to mind many verses in the Bible that mention brass instruments. They were used to rally men in battle, to signal an attack, and even to bring down a wall. 1 Chronicles 13:8 refers to David’s love of worship:
“And David and all Israel were celebrating before God with all their might, with song and lyres and harps and tambourines and cymbals and trumpets.”
It seems, regardless of context, the music of brass musical instruments is always strong and declarative. The mouth piece of each instrument is hung as a separate item, suggesting its special intimate purpose of connecting with a person and their very breath in the creative process. This is part of the messaging in this installation. One point of connection and meditation is our God’s creative use of His breath:
“Then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.” Genesis 2:7 (ESV)
“ Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.”
And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” John 20:21-22 (ESV)
"Venturing Inside"
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness."
—Psalm 19:2
These photographs show the “internal spaces” of stringed instruments as places for adventure and wonder, like old caverns or cathedrals. Imagine walking in the spaces, exploring the voices of the instruments from the inside.
For me, music is about more than mere expression. It is a vehicle for apprehension and awe, a way of discovering God and his creation. In our utilitarian era, we are well-trained in efficiency and productivity, but are often out of practice when it comes to perception and childlike curiosity. Exercising these deeply human faculties helps 'tune my heart to sing his praise.'
The instruments themselves contribute significantly to this exercise of discovery and wonder. Every instrument has its own voice, personality, sonic and tactile signature. Instruments often inform the direction of a composition or even an entire genre. Imagine the great tradition of hymnody without the pipe organ, or jazz without the saxophone. Each instrument has a voice and a place in the worship of our God.
Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp!
Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe!
Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
Let everything that has breath praise the Lord !
Praise the Lord!
—Psalm 150:3
"Go Light Your World"
Mixed Media
Artist: Ashley Jackson
People from every tribe & nation will gather around the throne of God to worship Him eternally. This motivates us to carry our light to the broken & hurting across boundary lines.
“Percussion”
Most of the photos here present the love for percussion of an ethnic minority living in East Asia. (I’ll call them the M-people.) Dressed in colorful costumes for special spiritual occasions they use drums, cymbals, and reed flutes to worship and thank the local deities that have been woven into their cultural identity through the centuries.
There is an implicit theological clash in this percussion installation—do you see and feel it? The snare drum in the center comes from the history filled closet of The Chapel. It is a percussion instrument that has been dedicated to declaring the exclusivity of Jesus over all the earth. What would it look like if the colorfully dressed, drum and cymbal playing M-people came into a relationship with the one true God. Missionaries around world wrestle with this question. More drumming and clanging for sure…because that passion is part of their culture--but to the glory of Jesus Christ!
The one outlier among the photos displays plainly dressed young people with great delight on their faces as they participate in group drumming. They are sight impaired children at an M-people school for the disabled. On that particular day, Jesus followers visited them. With lots of drums to do around they shared the love in the name of Christ.
Photos: Amanda Thomas; edited by Tom Schultheis
Music and dance form an integral part of celebrations in the country where I serve. Across the many cultures, the forms and styles vary widely: from beautiful acapella harmonization; to instruments of bamboo, wood, and metal; to intricate and graceful dances. In these pictures, one group of men is celebrating the dedication of a New Testament translation with musical instruments made entirely of bamboo. In the other three, dancers and musicians welcome guests to a Scripture festival. It is beautiful to see local cultural art forms taking on new meaning as they are employed in the worship of the Creator.