ART

Inasmuch as it is our goal to train Christian youth to direct cultural change, this training must include all aspects of culture.  In knowing God, students must realize a love for His holiness, wherein lies true beauty.  Truth, beauty, and goodness must be defined by the nature of God and not the prevailing whims of society.  “And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands for us; Yes, establish the work of our hands.” Psalm 90:17

 

David declares in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I have asked from the Lord, that I shall seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to meditate in His temple.”  To behold God is to behold the author of all that is good, true, and beautiful.  What God is determines what goodness is.  What God is determines what truth is.  What God is determines what beauty is.  In his book, True Spirituality, Francis Schaeffer states, “Christians are to demonstrate God’s character, which is a moral demonstration, but it is not only to be a demonstration of moral principles; it is a demonstration of His being, His existence.”  Art exists because God exists and ought to demonstrate by imitation His creation and character to the world.

 

In order to demonstrate by imitation the goodness, truth, and beauty of God one must be able to create works of art.  While there exists a level of artistic ability and creativity that can only be attributed to the specific gifting of God, art is also a learnable skill that all can acquire.  Beginning in the grammar stage, students are taught the basic elements of art while developing the ability to observe these elements in creation.  As students progress through the logic and rhetoric stages of art, our goal is that they not only are able to draw what they observe but that they are able to represent the goodness, truth, and beauty of the subject of their art as a reflection of God.  By the time they finish their course of studies at Veritas, it is our desire that they have developed discernment that enables them to appreciate good art and recognize that which masquerades as such.

 

Art instruction continues through high school and is closely linked to the study of history so that students are exposed to great works of art that reflect the culture of the time period being studied.  Skill in drawing is important to the accurate rendering of illustrations in other subjects as well, such as science, math, and literature.