It Was Good: Music — Book Release Parties

It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God is such an important book to us that it required TWO release parties! The North event was October 4 in Lancaster, PA. It included a workshop at Lancaster Bible College then a concert at The Trust Performing Arts Center. The contributors included: Diana Bauer, Rob Bigley, Bethany Brooks, Paul Buckley, Ned Bustard, Mark Chambers, Julius Fischer, Joy Ike, Steve Nichols, Doug Plank, and Gregg Strawbridge (CLICK HERE for Joy Ike's impression of the Lancaster Book Release Event.). The South event was October 18 in Nashville, TN. It included a round table forum at Belmont (CLICK HERE for a write up about the Belmont discussion) then a concert at the Massey Performing Arts Center. The contributors included: Diana Bauer, Katy Bowser, Bethany Brooks, Paul Buckley, Ned Bustard, Ruth Naomi Floyd, Steve Guthrie, Joy Ike, Sarah Masen, Sandra McCracken, and Brad O’Donnell.

Two photos from each event are shown below. North is first and South is second. For more photos and video clips, visit our Facebook page. 

C.S. Lewis and the Arts: Creativity in the Shadowlands

On C.S. Lewis’ birthday we released the newest book from Square Halo Books: C.S. Lewis and the Arts: Creativity in the Shadowlands. The book is a collection of essays edited by Rod Miller and featuring David C. Downing, Bruce Herman, Scott B. Key, Don W. King, Jerry Root, David Rozema, Peter J. Schakel, Charlie W. Starr, and Will Vaus, with a foreword by Theodore Prescott.

Lewis holds a notable place in the church and in the world for both his creative literary contributions as well as his informed reflections upon artistic activity. He negotiated the intellectual and aesthetic issues of his day in his creative endeavors and sought to ground those in relation to his faith. The arguments, perceptions and values Lewis posited benefit those today who seek to use their creative gifts beyond mere fad but towards the holy. 

“Helpful and worthwhile. Anyone seeking to understand Lewis’s approach to the arts will profit from this array of interesting perspectives.” —Dr. Michael Ward, co-editor of The Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis

“Even fifty years after his death, C.S. Lewis remains one the most popular and influential Christian writers and thinkers of the twentieth century. So much has been written about him, one wonders what else can possibly be said. But this book is a fascinating exploration of Lewis’s thinking about the arts, making it a must read book for anyone who loves Lewis and loves the arts.”—Mary McCleary, artist

“We need more books like this: books that not only celebrate and decipher Lewis’s defense of the arts and of the ineradicable links between the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, but that wrestle alongside Lewis, extending and nuancing his arguments so that they will speak with direct and prophetic power to our modern and postmodern colleges and universities.” —Dr. Louis Markos, author of Restoring Beauty: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful in the Writings of C.S. Lewis

It Was GOOD: Music —But Don't Just Take Our Word For It!

Karen Peris of The Innocence Mission writes, "Musicians will be encouraged and uplifted by the essays is this book, which seeks to put into words our shared wonder and gratitude for the gift of music in our lives."

Dave Perkins, Associate Director of the Religion in the Arts and Contemporary Culture program at The Divinity School of Vanderbilt University writes, “Is it possible to fully elucidate the spiritual, emotional, intellectual, even physical experiences of music making?  Perhaps the best way to go about it is to gather a choir of voices. It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God offers a rich resource of perspectives, each working to share some aspect or moment in the experience of that mercurial characteristic of human being we call music and its place in the life of faith.”

Erin M. Stephens writes, "If the Church is the Body of Christ, then music is its heartbeat. Music reverberates in the spirit, draws individuals together into community, and guides them in the common desire to exalt their Savior. Through music, Christians experience an inexplicable link to their Creator. Though mysterious, this interaction is a central facet of Christianity that intimately informs your relationship with God. Each follower of Christ, regardless of personal musical ability, should cultivate a God-centered understanding of music. For such an endeavor, It was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God edited by Ned Bustard is an ideal resource. In its engaging pages, thirty devout music-professionals offer their unique perspectives on music-making. Its content is accessible, its contributors authoritative, and its captivating insights universally applicable, making this book a necessary pleasure for worship leader and worshiper alike." CLICK HERE to read the full review.

Jeremy Begbie, author of Resounding Truth writes, "Lively, engaging and eminently readable—this book shows that it is still possible to write about music in a way that enriches our experience of it. Above all, it will renew your gratitude to God for making such an art possible.”

Denis Haack writes, "I was delighted about the first in this series, It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God, and equally delighted by this second volume on music. Each chapter explores a different aspect of the topic, from silence to listening to improvisation to instruments to touring to harmony and much more. Written by musicians, theologians, songwriters and musicologists, it becomes a valuable resource for both musicians and those of us who cannot make music but cannot live without it. Reading this book is like hearing from the other side—from those writing the music or recording it or playing it live—so the experience of music is less fragmented and we are better able to see how it can all play out to God’s glory." CLICK HERE to read the full review.

Composer J.A.C. Redford writes, “Making music to the glory of God is both a calling and a delight. Dialoguing with other artists who embrace the same vocation is a source of particular joy for me, and this collection of thoughtful essays invites readers into reflections and conversations that will nourish and inspire. The diverse voices represented in It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God weave together rich harmony with subtle dissonance. If you listen carefully, you may just hear the answering voices of saints and angels in heavenly counterpoint.”

Christopher Dicram Hale of Aradhna writes, “A book like this is a life line of hope, encouragement, and joy to a musician whose journey continues to be anything but normal after twenty-two years of worshiping Jesus through Hindi devotional music genres.”

Walt Harrah writes, "For musicians, ruts are a normal (even if potentially hazardous) part of the job. The musician’s field of vision can tend to shrink, unless the musician is forced—often kicking and screaming—outside of his comfort zone. This book had that effect on me, and I trust will do the same for my fellow musicians seeking to make music to God’s glory." CLICK HERE to read the full review.

It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God

We are delighted to announce the release of It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God. It is the second book in what will be a three-volume series. A short excerpt of a review about It Was Good: Making Music to the Glory of God appeared on the TGC site, posted by Justin Taylor. But to experience that epic review in all of its glory, you need to visit Hearts & Minds. At one point in the full Hearts & Minds review Byron Borger says simply, "This book is a delight to read, a joy, thrilling even, if you are a music lover.  But, also, it is important." We think that sums things up nicely. The book includes the following contributors:

 Vito Aiuto • Diana Bauer • Bethany Brooks • Paul Buckley • Mark Chambers • William Edgar • Julius Fischer • Ruth Naomi Floyd • Jan & Mark Foreman • David Fuentes • Keith Getty • Steve Guthrie • Drew Holcomb • Joy Ike • Tom Jennings • Shai Linne • Sandra McCracken • Brian Moss • Stephen Nichols • Brad O'Donnell • John Patitucci • Charlie Peacock • Doug Plank • Hiram Ring • Michael Roe • Michelle Stearns • Gregg Strawbridge • Greg Wilbur • Kirstin Vander Giessen-Reitsma

Order this book through Hearts & Minds or through your favorite bookseller.

Beauty Given by Grace

Square Halo Books is pleased to report that coming soon is a new book published with CIVA to support and complement the upcoming traveling exhibit, Beauty Given by Grace: The Biblical Prints of Sadao Watanabe. The book will officially be released at the opening of the show at the Billy Graham Center Museum. Even though Watanabe's art can be found in the most important museums in the world, he always desired to have his work displayed where it could be seen and enjoyed by ordinary people. It is hoped that Beauty Given by Grace will introduce many new communities to the luminous biblical prints of this dedicated and gifted Japanese Christian artist. Lavishly illustrated, half of the book features full page reproductions of the works found in the traveling exhibit along with the passages from the Bible which inspired their creation. The rest of the book contains other works by Sadao Watanabe not in the show with essays by Sandra Bowden, I. John Hesselink (his interpreter), Makoto Fujimura, and John A. Kohan.

Visions of The End

Square Halo is getting into the ebook side of publishing.  We already published a Kindle version of Intruding Upon the Timeless by Greg Wolfe and our most recent ebook is a really helpful little booklet on Revelation titled Visions of The End: A Glossary of the Images in Revelation.  Some of you may have seen or read The End by A. D. Bauer.  The new ebook takes what most people like best about The End which is the glossary of images and presents it in an even more accessible form.  Nice features of the new ebook include; additional images are defined, you can use the table of contents to go directly to the images that start with a particular letter and as with all ebooks, whether you get the book through iTunes or Kindle, it is easy to take it with you on your phone, tablet or laptop.

The thing that is so exciting about this new ebook is that it makes Revelation really accessible.  If you have ever read Revelation, after you get through the first three chapters and you are thinking, ’this isn’t so bad’, you are suddenly bombarded with a series of images that can be completely incomprehensible.  Visions of The End tells you all the places in Revelation where an image is found, it points you to where in the Bible the image originates and it helps you understand the meaning of the image in light of how that image is used in Revelation, and elsewhere in Scripture.  The thing that is so nice about this ebook is that you do not have to start from a particular end time view to benefit from this book.  You can disagree with one or more definitions and still find definitions that help you understand a part of the book that you always found confusing.  Additionally, we are offering discounts on our other traditional books.  How do you get the discount?  Find out in Visions of The End.

A GOOD Look at the Sistine Chapel

There is a wonderful website you should visit to experience the Sistine Chapel, here.

But perhaps before you look around the chapel you should read Dr. James Romaine's essay about the Ceiling in our book It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God. In that chapter Romaine helps us understand the order of it all: "Michelangelo’s frescoes on the Sistine Chapel ceiling represent the Genesis narrative of Creation, Fall, and Redemption as an epic history of divine action. The program is constructed of nine scenes divided into three groups of three. In order beginning from the altar, these are: The Separation of Light and Darkness, The Creation of Land and Vegetation and The Creation of the Sun and Moon, The Bringing Forth of Life from the Waters, The Creation of Adam, The Creation of Eve, The Temptation and Expulsion, The Faithfulness of Noah, The Flood, and The Drunkenness of Noah. The nine scenes that run the length of the chapel thematically group into three triads: God’s creation of the world before humanity, the creation and fall of humanity, and the life of Noah."

Making Art after 9/11

Following are excerpts from a conversation in Objects of Grace between Dr. James Romaine and artist Makoto Fujimura

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James Romaine: Living two blocks from where the World Trade Center was, how were you impacted by the events of September 11th 2001?

Makoto Fujimura: It was a truly harrowing experience; as the towers were collapsing and the fires were spreading, my wife and our children were all being evacuated from the area, literally being chased by the clouds of dust, ash, and fumes of jet fuel, and we didn’t know when we would return or if our loft would even be there. Judy was at the loft and the children were right around the corner in school so they experienced a lot more than I did. I was trapped in the subway, one station away from the area underneath the towers which collapsed in on itself.

Two months later, having been able to return to our loft, we are just beginning to realize what happened. I feel very protected in that my family was rescued right out of the mouth of the terror. The other side of it is a tremendous feeling of mourning and even anger. Living at Ground Zero is a daily experience of depending on God’s grace.

. . . 

In the conversation we had last year, you talked about your art as an expression of “Costly Grace.” While Christ is ultimately the perfect picture of that costly grace, the 9-11 events were another demonstration of the costs of grace.

MF: Christ is the ultimate meeting of God’s “how” and “why” of salvation. And grace is the operative word that fuses the two. We saw these firemen rush to save lives, climbing the falling towers. There is nothing more noble than losing one’s life to save others. This is the greater love that the Bible speaks of, and that love was exemplified in Jesus.

What we saw were two “art forms.” The terrorists’ “art” of vengeance contrasted with the heroes of 9-11 whose “art” was their sacrifice. (I am using this “art” in the classical use of the term, meaning anything we create.) These are two clear opposing ways of creating. Any works after 9-11 will be marked by, and defined by, these opposing categories.

Where Were You?

Funny how our culture marks significant events by asking the simple question, "Where were you when..."

Where were you when John F. Kennedy was shot, when Neil Armstrong took those epic first steps on the moon, or when the Berlin Wall toppled?

In my lifetime perhaps no better answer to this iconic question would be where I was when the planes hit the World Trade Center's Twin Towers. I don't think there has been an event in our collective American consciousness quite like what happened to our country on the beautiful day, September 11, 2001.

Why is that so? For one, millions of us watched in real time when the first plane hit that first tower. We were confused and thought surely this was a mistake. The plane veered off course. We thought this until the second plane hit its twin. That was deliberate. We saw smoke, fire and debris of an ungodly nature.

That second act begs a more significant question then just the standard “where were you”. That question is, “Where was God”?

Square Halo Books took on that question in our book, Light at Ground Zero: St. Paul’s Chapel after 9/11. This book is a compilation of photographs taken by Krystyna Sanderson of the relief efforts after those towers and our hopes collapsed. These photographs document God's hands, feet, and heart in action as Saint Paul's Chapel became the center where the first responders found relief.

The Church open itself up to became a sanctuary to all who bravely took upon themselves the massive task set before them.

And Krystyna's photographic heart captured it all without any expectation that her pictures would ever see the light of day. At Saint Paul’s we answer the question, “Where was God?” We found God hard at work through His church binding up our Nation’s wounded bodies and souls.

Since September 11th, thousands and thousands of people visited Saint Paul's Chapel and purchased this wonderful book of healing, Light at Ground Zero. It stands as a photographic tribute to good triumphing over evil.

Pairing Biblical verses and thoughts from the Book of Common Prayer with Krystyna’s photographs makes Light at Ground Zero very distinctive.  Photographs paired with verse helps make sense out of a senseless act and answers the question, where was God on 9/11. He was there and Krystyna captured Him in action for all of us to see. We recommend this book to you as you face situations where you may be asking, “Where was God when...”

—Diana DiPasquale, President of Square Halo Books, Inc.

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On September 24, 2011, Square Halo Books is helping to sponsor a forum at The Row House that will feature Krystyna speaking about Light at Ground Zero.

WORLD Magazine

We're very pleased to announce that WORLD Magazine has featured Krystyna Sanderson's book Light at Ground Zero: St. Paul's Chapel After 9/11 on their book review page in the Spotlight section. This issue of the magazine focuses on remembering the tragedy of 9/ll. Light at Ground Zero is the first title from Square Halo Books to be featured in WORLD. We have always been so very proud of this book, and are thankful that we could be a part in making it.

08.18.11

Square Halo Books was delighted to release The Art of Guy Chase this past year. It was the second in a series that we are developing that will be focussing on excellent visual artists who are followers of Christ. So it is with regret that we received the news that Guy passed away last week on the eighteenth of August. James Romaine commented that:

"Guy was a great artist and a better person. He demonstrated that a work of art is a strategy of perceiving the world. His art’s humility and humor encourages a delight in the visible through a contemplation of the invisible. Or, is it the other around? Guy was able to see and manifest these as reconciled.”

We are so very glad to have been able to publish a book that lauded this fine artist and a dear brother in Christ. In addition to our book, Karen Mulder has been working on an article to be released in Image Journal that will give an overview of Guy's work. Look for that this Fall. Also, CIVA's new sourcebook features Guy's work on the front cover and on all the divider pages.

A memorial service for Guy Chase is going to be held tomorrow, August 23rd, 10:00 am, in the House of Mercy Church.  Please remember his family in your prayers on Tuesday.

CCR: Comment, Chase and Romaine

It is always a good day when new articles arrive in your email inbox from Comment. Today was especially welcome since it included an essay by James Romaine about artist Guy Chase. Romaine writes: "Chase's art specifically addresses issues that are central to the process of art appreciation: visual inattentiveness, personal incognizance, and spiritual complacency. His art not only exposes these tendencies—which we all have—but, even more significantly, models a life of prayerful faithfulness."

You can read the article here.

Artist of the Year!

Mary McCleary—featured in It Was Good, Objects of Grace and After Paradise—has been selected as the 2011 Texas Artist of the Year by Art League Houston. As Texas Artist of the Year, Mary McCleary will be featured in an exhibition at Art League Houston, which opens on September 9 and runs through October 21, 2011. We are very proud of Mary and glad that she is getting the recognition that her work deserves! If you are unfamiliar with her work, we encourage you to get After Paradise first. In that title you will find many recent works by McCleary. Older works and a lengthy interview can be found in Objects of Grace. And in It Was Good you will find an essay by McCleary on craftsmanship.

Square Halo's FIRST E-BOOK

It is an exciting day today for Square Halo Books. Our first e-book is now available! You can get Gregory Wolfe's Intruding Upon the Timeless for your iPod and iPad through iTunes. or visit Amazon to get it for your Kindle.


Annie Dillard, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek says: Gregory Wolfe’s vision is the animating force behind Image, one of the best journals on the planet. Intruding Upon the Timeless, a collection of his pieces from Image, takes its title from a phrase of Flannery O’Connor. That’s apt, because not since O’Connor’s Mystery and Manners has there been such bracing insight on the pile-up where art and faith collide. This book will rev your engines and propel you down the same road.


For those of you who still crave a book to hold in your hands with real pages to flip (and who want to look at the Barry Moser engravings up close), you can still buy the book from Hearts & Minds.

The Art of Guy Chase

We are excited to announce that our next book will soon be coming out. This new project, The Art of Guy Chase, explores the visual, conceptual, and spiritual complexities of one of the most provocative contemporary visual artists of faith. Chase’s art is characterized by intentionally cultivated contradictions between humor and sobriety, contemplation and irony, material tactility and sacred meaning. Lavishly illustrated, this book documents Guy Chase’s faithful response to an artistic calling and his methodical engagement with the history of Christianity and the visual arts as a strategy of renewing that relationship today.

This book is edited by Dr. James Romaine and has essays by Romaine, Wayne Roosa, Ted Prescott, Albert Pedulla, and Joel Sheesley. Dr. Romaine is going to lecture at Bethel on February 26th as part of the Monochrome Plus: Guy Chase Retrospective. Here is a link to a Facebook Event invitation.

Makoto Fujimura has said, "Guy Chase’s art is full of surprises, twists, humour, candor, inventiveness and delight; Chase takes the postmodern visual language to its ends of hubris and significance; always turning our assumptions upside down. This marvelous collections of his work and essays by friends/scholars creates a humble dialogue that lays a track for generations of future artists who wrestle with art and faith."

About this book Sandra Bowden wrote, "In a time when painting is suspect as an art form, Guy Chase’s subtle nuanced paintings celebrate the hand—the paint, the brush stroke, the surface texture and the very act of making art. A conceptual thread gives a spirit of modernism, yet each piece is an invitation to come close and enter Chase’s meditative world of devotional reflection. This book chronicles his spiritual and artistic journey and is a valuable contribution to the growing collection of books on artists of faith."


As soon as this book is released, it will be available through Hearts & Minds.

Courage

New York City photographer Krystyna Sanderson has an online store up now that is featuring her piece "Courage" from our book Light at Ground Zero. As we get closer to the tenth anniversary of the horrible attacks made against our country, it is good to be able to look at  Light at Ground Zero and see how God's work of mercy was carried on behind the closed doors of St. Paul's Chapel.

The Four Holy Gospels

The artist Makoto Fujimura is quite a favorite of ours. We first featured him in It Was Good. Then he was interviewed (twice) in our book Objects of Grace. And just recently we did a small book showcasing his art alongside the paintings of Georges Rouault.

But enough about us.

This post is to let you know that Mako has recently partnered with Crossway to create a an illuminated harmony of the Gospels to celebrate the KJV's 400th anniversary. It is easy to imagine how lovely the book would be, based on the reproductions of his paintings in our Square Halo titles, but to see it in your hands is breath taking. It is like holding a new Book of Kells. It is a joy to page through and discover the decorated caps at the beginning of chapters, the marginalia gracefully littering the pages, and of course, the full paintings. My favorite of the larger works was the piece that begins the gospel according to John called In the Beginning.

Mako's art is what I'd call semi-abstract because he often brings in visual elements that the viewer recognizes—like a tree, or a fish, or a flower, etc. This made it especially delightful to page through The Four Holy Gospels. The marginalia is a combination of representational and abstract paintings. The art draws you in, making you want to discover what aspect of the text Mako is bringing out visually. There were so many of these "incidental" pieces that captured my imagination, but I was especially pleased to see the last page, where Mako had painted a blood-stained tree reminiscent of the Shalom lithograph that hangs in our home.

This amazing new book looks lovely displayed on a bookshelf, but it resists becoming merely a decoration. Seeing it makes you want to come up with reasons to take it down and read it (when my eldest daughter saw this book she commented on it by saying, "THAT'S what it should be like to read the Bible").

So I urge you, if you are able, get a copy of The Four Holy Gospels. When you read it your heart and your mind will be changed as the words of our Lord mingle with the beauty in the art. Soli Deo Gloria.

Duke Divinity School . . . and Zombies

Our book, "It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God" was included on a list "of key texts which treat the arts from a theological perspective" compiled by DITA's Director, Dr Jeremy Begbie. To see our book on the same page as books by Begbie, Dyrness, Rookmaaker, Ryken, Seerveld, etc. is quite an honor. 

But it isn't just deep thinkers about theology who are mentioning our book. Recently IWG was mentioned favorably in a response to a blog about zombies!

Hearts & Minds Christmas List

Our friends at Hearts & Minds put the newest Square Halo book on their gift giving guide! We must say, it does strike us as an ideal stocking stuffer -- or as the perfect present for the person who has everything. Buying a gift for someone only to find out that they already have it is such a disappointment, isn't it? That is just one more reason to love this book . . . it is pretty safe to assume that the people on your list this year don't already have this "truly wonderful little gift; rare, important, inspiring." Follow the link above to read the whole entry about this book. And then order it from Hearts & Minds to give this Christmas!

Books and Culture and Soliloquies

Square Halo's recent book, Rouault-Fujimura: Soliloquies, was mentioned today in a post by John Wilson, the editor of Books & Culture. Half of the post is about Baylor's show Sacred Texts, Holy Images. Bill Dyrness has said that our little book "could go a long way toward helping art literati see the natural connections of faith, tradition and contemporary styles." Hopefully the Baylor show will will be a similar help to those who visit the exhibition.