#34: A Guide to Majoring in the Arts

My guest in this edition is Cam Anderson, author of The Faithful Artist: A Vision for Evangelicalism and the Arts. Cam holds a Masters of Fine Arts (the highest degree in the field) from Cranbrook Academy of Art, works as an artist (among other things), and is past president of CIVA–Christians in the Visual Arts. I know of no one better to help us think about majoring in the arts than Cam. 

In this podcast we discuss:

• How Cam first became interested in the arts
• His journey toward introducing himself as an artist, especially in the Christian community
• Why the church tends to devalue a calling to the arts
• The various fields within the broader category of “the arts”
• Career opportunities in the arts
• Shifts in university art departments over the past 50 years
• How an undergraduate degree in the arts positions one to work in other career fields
• Character traits and other indicators that you may flourish as an artist
• What a day in the life of an artist looks like
• What is often not taught in History of Art courses
• Cam’s journey to unite faith and art, and some ways this benefitted his faith and life
• Challenges Cam faced as he worked to unite faith and art
• How beauty helps us enter the presence of God
• The current state of the teaching and practice of art in universities (in general)
• How the crafts display beauty in interesting ways
• Advice to students considering or in art programs at secular universities
• What to do if you find your arts program is antagonistic to the Christian faith
• How to choose a good university art program
• Thinking Christianly about modern and contemporary art, and the other half of the story
•  How campus ministers and youth pastors can best reach students in the arts
• Imagining a world without art as a way to understand the value of art

Resources mentioned during our conversation:

• Cameron Anderson, The Faithful Artist: A Vision for Evangelicalism and the Arts
• Cameron Anderson and G. Walter Hansen, eds., God in the Modern Wing: Viewing Art with Eyes of Faith
• Makoto Fujimura, Art and Faith: A Theology of Making
• Makoto Fujimura, Culture Care: Reconnecting with Beauty for Our Common Life
• Upper House podcast with Cam Anderson and Majoto Fujimura: Art + Faith
• Madeleine L’Engle, Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art
• Christians in the Visual Arts (ceased programming in April 2023)–see especially their “Find Your Fit” page for links to many other faith and art communities
• The Brehm Center at Fuller Seminary
• Duke Initiatives in Theology & the Arts
• Image Journal
• The Rabbit Room
• Square Halo Books