I said it before when the first glass window was put in the Chapel at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. These are more like coloring book images than stained glass. The are modern -- I will give you that. But they are hardly stained glass and not up to the standards of the original. You judge for yourself. You can seem them all here. In my mind, Jesus looks a little two generic and transparent -- not to mention without any marks of the suffering He endured for us and our salvation. Or look at a few of the images below.
Mark me as not a fan....
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The congregation that I grew up in was constructed in the 1940s with similar large abstract imagery, though there were no white spaces as seen here, and the images were all symbolic and figureless, probably as a nod to generic Protestant sensibilities. So, the church was represented by a ship, the resurrection by an empty tomb, etc. The only window incorporated from the previous original building from the beginning of the century was a reproduction of Hofmann’s Christ in Gethsemane. The other windows in the preceding sanctuary had been plain, due to cost. So there was a definite shift in taste from the beginning of the 20th century, which still looked back to recent 19th century European models, and the middle of the 20th century, which embraced contemporary American style, which itself parallels the movement of the Missouri Synod from a German immigrant church body to a mainstream American Protestant one.
As a child, I liked both, though I didn’t realize that they represented two different eras of Missouri history. There is a dark somberness to Hofmann’s piece that fits well with Lutheran theology and piety. There is an expansive modernity that matches the character of mid to late-20th century America. For those who prefer only the older traditional style, remember that it, too, was considered contemporary in its 19th century realism. For those conservatives in taste who might also occasionally wonder why we no longer sing the hundreds of old evangelical German Lutheran hymns anymore outside of a handful, consider that while the theology is certainly sound, the style and especially singability is bound to the past. Listen to a download of Bach’s Orgelbüchlein with a choir singing the corresponding German hymns, and ask yourself how many of these would translate well into a contemporary American Lutheran congregational setting. Not many, regardless of our conservatism and aesthetic appreciation for them.
So count me a fan of the new windows. They are contemporary, forward looking, and may they enhance the rich worship life of our seminarians into the rest of the 21st century.
Yes, a fusion of coloring book and Tiffany lampshade. The first picture looks like a Chinese New Year dragon under Jesus’ feet! Not wanting to be rude, but if I turned in/did something like this in college (Bachelor Fine Arts), my professors would have called this “schlock.”
My wife bought some crafts from Hobby Lobby where the children paint plastic stained glass type pieces. These windows unfortunately remind me of those with the muted, washed out colors (much like the thin water paints for the craft) and looking unfinished (as is often the case with toddlers and crafts, attention spans being as they are). I feel rude for saying as much, but I don't find it inspiring. Since I'm trying my own hand at a stained glass piece though, I may have a greater appreciation as I progress.
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