What do I even say?
I was in Brooklyn — more specifically in the Bed-Stuy area — looking for a cafe called the Outpost. After struggling to park, getting a bit lost in the streets, I finally found the cafe: small, dimly lit from the outside, somewhat narrow and long inside.
It was one of those days where every fabric on your body would stick on the surface on your skin, tugging back and forth as you move through the thick afternoon air. It was rough.
All that aside, I came to the cafe to meet a man named Ben Stamper, a visual artist and filmmaker I got to find out through Redeemer's Center for Faith & Work ministry. Ben, whose works span from documentary to narrative, has an expansive list of recognized works from Utah State University to MetLiveArts, with specific interest in nature and body movement. He also collaborated with Mason Jar Music and Andrew Ellis in the past, developing innovative and creative audio/visual works.
Since then, I've been captivated by his works and wanted to learn and hear from him about his relationship with art and faith. So a couple of weeks ago, I emailed Ben asking some questions regarding this topic. To my surprise, not only did he reply back the next morning, but he very graciously offered to meet up with me over coffee.
After a few email exchanges and traffic jams later, we were both inside the dim cafe, music humming in the background.
There was something about Ben, his calm, serious, contemplative, and perhaps even a careful gaze, that put me in a state of retrospection. Needless to say, for a jobless and clueless recent college-grad to grab coffee with an artist like Ben was an exciting, unreal opportunity.
Ben began the conversation by asking a bunch of questions about me, how I came across his works, my background, etc. The questions, however, slowly became more and more focused on the topic of... reality. Somehow in the middle of what I was saying, that particular word stuck out to him and he began to press me with questions about what "reality" meant to me, why cinema out of all mediums of art had to do with it.
Let's just say, I wasn't particularly ready. It was definitely a loaded set of questions. For those reading this article, I'll break down some of the points brought up over the conversation. I hope it'll be of use to you.
(The following paragraphs contain a mixture of both Ben's reflections as well as mine).
Art aims to seek a "deeper reality" beyond the "the real."
"Let's take that chair, for example," Ben said as he pointed at a brown, aged, wooden chair nearby. Initially, our minds simply accept the chair as a chair because we are unable to take in all the information we receive, so our brains like to categorize things. Ben, however, argues that that chair is far more than just a chair. Art ultimately seeks to dive into deeper layers in order to explore the relationship the chair has with itself, with the person sitting on it, the person away from it, and the chair's relationship with the space surrounding it; Art's purpose is to explore a much more profound and intricate world of reality that is, in some ways, more "real" than our initial understanding of the world around us. Art should challenge us to see and digest the world differently by creating experiences to evoke such reflections.
Your perspective on how you view the world is inherently connected to your faith.
While I grew up in a culture where art and faith were completely unrelated elements (with art often seen lesser and inferior), Ben suggested otherwise. In essence, the Gospel ultimately transforms our worldview. And because art is a reflection and a reaction to what we experience in the world (and we process this through our worldview), this naturally means that our art is inherently and intricately connected to our faith.
Jesus commands us to look at the world around us and carefully examine, to explore the world of what we're looking at.
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them... Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these [emphasis added]. - Matthew 6:26,28-29
What the artist is called to do is simply a mere dim reflection of what God is doing --looking at the world and exploring the relationships and realities that are associated with it. In the midst of a busy world filled with distractions, art has the powerful potential to slap us awake to see the deeper realities of the world around us, realities that are reflections of the Gospel.
Because art, worldview, and faith are all inherently connected, an "intersectionality" may not necessarily exist.
Related to the last point, if the art that we as artists produce, our worldview, and our faith are all connected entities as the Bible states, then the question "is there such thing as an 'intersectionality' between art and faith" may not be the right question to ask. Instead, Ben posed other questions that we should be asking:
● Is our practicing of art-making nourishing people, relationships, and hospitality instead of our ego?
● Are we the most hardworking in all of our work and opportunities? (A quick note: Ben stressed how filmmaking is not merely about the glitz and glamor of saying "cut" behind the camera. In fact, doing our hardest, even the most menial of tasks, is at the very heart of filmmaking. Essentially, it's about servanthood, Ben said.)
● Do we have the courage to make mistakes (and to own up to them when we do make them)?
"God has given us the amazing privilege to create these transcendental experiences for others through film, but we must also steward that gift responsibly." That should ultimately be at the very core of every Christian artist.
"I am always amazed by the breadth and depth of the Holy Spirit's vocabulary to speak to us through the creative artist to the professional accountant."
Talking about film, Ben and I discussed our backgrounds: Ben as a former painter and now a visual artist and filmmaker, and myself coming from an experimental background through my university. This is when he mentioned that, whether experimental or narrative cinema, whether a creative artist or a number-crunching accountant, the Holy Spirit is more than powerful enough and infinitely wise that He is able to speak through all forms of mediums and people, that honoring God for the Christian artist doesn't have to be limited to making "movies that talk about Jesus."
Craftsmanship is critical because it allows us to communicate ideas more effectively.
Early on in our conversation, Ben was quick to mention the importance of craftsmanship, how he is constantly focused on this idea of training and advancing in his craft. Higher quality craftsmanship (as in the art of filmmaking) allows artists to explore the deeper realities of the world more powerfully and effectively.
Discover your own distinct perspective and voice by creating as much as you can.
For a young filmmaker like myself, Ben emphasized the importance of finding and developing a unique voice and style to show to the world. Whether the product is good or bad, "the only way to identify your unique perspective is by simply making more and more films" and finding what you naturally gravitate towards, what your strengths are and narrowing those down to a specific, unique, and developed way of looking at the world (again, since art is about seeing the world beyond what we merely "see").
Ultimately, this voice of ours must be one of blessing and nourishment to others, and overflowing faith must be at the root of it; a heart that is streaming with what is good, Christ-like, and Godly. This kind of heart must be the engine that drives our creative force.
God takes art-making and craftsmanship seriously.
"The first people in the Bible filled with the Holy Spirit were artists," Ben mentioned (referring to the craftsman Bezalel from Exodus 31 responsible for building the Tabernacle).
The Lord said to Moses, “See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft. And behold, I have appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat that is on it, and all the furnishings of the tent, the table and its utensils, and the pure lampstand with all its utensils, and the altar of incense, and the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the basin and its stand, and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense for the Holy Place. According to all that I have commanded you, they shall do [emphasis added]. - Exodus 31:1-11
God gives us the "...ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs..." and our responsibility is to steward these gifts honorably. God is the ultimate Artist and the ultimate Craftsman who highly values the practice of art-making and uniquely equips artists with specific gifts to do so.
The calling of the artist is a reflection of His heart as the greater, true Artist: to bless others by discovering and exploring new perceptions of the world and our hearts through the lens of the Gospel using the tools of our trade. For the Christian artist, mere self-expression doesn't seem to be art's primary purpose. Instead, the artist of faith uses art for all of us to experience deeper realities of the world where we can examine our hearts, glorify God, and enjoy Him even more, forever.
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Thanks for taking your time to read through my first blog! Huge special thanks to Ben Stamper for making time out of his busy schedule to meet up with me. You can see Ben's previous works here, and a recent project with artists including Ben Stamper and Christopher Martin called Home was released on Youtube. You can watch it here (thanks for introducing me the video, Steven). It's really quite an experience.