The Artist’s Autobiography

by Geoff Hall
Part 4 in the 4-part series Spiritual Direction in a Postmodern Landscape

One of the biggest issues I’m asked about in my capacity as an arts mentor focuses on identity. Who am I as an artist? The next serious question is then How should my faith inform and give shape to my work? Autobiography will help artists to grapple with the issues from within redemption’s story and guide them to find a place to live and work in contemporary culture.

It is assumed that there is a straight line between who we are and what we do, because in schools and colleges we are told that we are educated to form part of the (standardised) technological society. We are a valid contributor to the local and national economy; we are to all intents and purposes viewed as passive contributors and consumers. We earn so that we can spend, to bolster the GDP of the Nation. That’s all there is to it!

Table of Contents

Foreword	13
Introduction	17
Cultural contexts/distorted images – humanism	21
Cultural contexts/distorted images – nihilism	25
The method and madness of 21st Century Mint Imperialism	35
The prophetic call to clear the ground	39
Developing and fixing an Image	43
The spiritual community or the circus	51
Guides of the Wilderness terrain	59
The artist’s autobiography and the leitmotiv of love	69
Worldviews and storytelling	77
The future of subversive art	81
Afterwords	97
A future tense, a tense future	105
Appendix	113
From the Editor	117
Also in this series	118
About the Author	120
Notebook	130