Thursday, January 26, 2012

Art and Liturgy in the Missal

I ran across this piece on the use of art and design for "secular" works and the question was entirely germane to the circumstance today in Lutheran service books:  Surely if one artist can accomplish this for the reasons noted above, the same or greater is not unrealistic or out of reach for us in relation to the sacred liturgy and liturgical books of the Church. 

You take a look at what this artist has done with a combination of original art and a carefully chosen type face.  When I look at the LSB Altar Book or Lectionary (especially the cover) I only wish we had given the same attention to art as this work of Tolkien!   Ah.... well...  you can read it all for yourself here...

1 comment:

Janis Williams said...

Spot on, Fr. Peters.

Why do we decorate our homes, our lawns, our malls, and even our bodies? Why do we decorate our church buildings (at least even the big box churches THINK they're decorated - they have interior designers)? Why do we place decoration (you can't call most of it Art) so high on the list for ourselves, but not our "minor" possessions?

How many LCMS members own their own copy of LSB? We do not read, for the most part. Nor do we sing. Seeker churches make sure you don't have to worry with that: words to songs are on the jumbotron. We certainly don't want to carry around a Bible (if we do, we have a cover with a handle on it). How many of us would purchase an LSB if it had pretty pictures?

Does anyone remember when Bibles had pictures in them? I do. (Getting old).

How far we are from the book of Kells. It is more important that WE are beautiful, and not the things used in the worship of our Great God.