DESCRIPTION
A beautiful blend of fine art and probing dialogueThis beautiful book is written as a conversation between two friends -- biblical scholar G. Walter Hansen and contemporary artist Bruce Herman -- as they reflect on and interpret artwork created over the past thirty years.
Between 1982 and 2012 Bruce Herman produced over 500 works of art reflecting his personal journey of creativity and faith. In a series of brief meditations and essays in accessible language, accompanied by full-color reproductions of the art, the authors explore major themes relevant to Herman's pilgrimage in the often-confusing current art culture. Their dialogue reveals many insights into Herman's art, enabling laypersons to come to a richer appreciation of contemporary art in general.
REVIEWS
Makoto Fujimura
artist
"It isn't too often that we get a glimpse into a behind-the-scenes relationship between a patron of art and an artist. In this case, Walter Hansen and Bruce Herman have journeyed together as a theologian and a cultural commentator, two men with cultural stewardship as a goal for the next generation. Bruce Herman is one of the wisest practitioners of art today, and Walter Hansen one of the key influencers and patrons of Christians in the arts. This book is a treasure chest full of wisdom for those serving in the world of art and faith -- it's a work of deep friendship and conversation originating from the highest realm of integrity.�
Thomas Howard
author of Dove Descending: A Journey into T.S. Eliot's `Four Quartets'
"This is not a book for the fainthearted. It is searching; demanding; exhilarating. It will take you into the glorious and ancient questions that attend Art -- but in a way that we of the laity can immediately grasp. This exchange between two intelligent men, one the artist and the other the patron (it takes one back to the Renaissance) will both instruct and delight -- docere et delectare.�
Daniel A. Siedell
Art Historian
"Since the fifteenth century, patrons -- collectors, critics, and dealers -- have played a crucial but often overlooked role in the development of artists' work. In Through Your Eyes artist Bruce Herman and collector Walter Hansen allow us privileged access into this unique relationship between an artist and a collector, a relationship born from a single question: `What do you see?'�
Themelios
"Bruce Herman has for many years been working in that strange cultural space between the church and the contemporary art world — indeed he is one of the most prominent figures to have made his home there. And his most recent book Through Your Eyes, collaboratively written with Walter Hansen, offers a welcome contribution for further study and reflection about the work being made in that space."
Transpositions
Best enjoyed slowly, several pages per day (or evening, if it makes its way to your nightstand) over the course of several weeks, Through Your Eyes is recommended for those interested in contemporary treatments of religious subjects and fans of Herman's work. A lovely book from Eerdmans, what I hope might be the first of several volumes of its kind.