Dave Hegeman is a librarian and writer in Newberg, Oregon, and does watercolours whenever he can. He is the author of Plowing In Hope: Toward a Biblical Theology of Culture (Canon Press, 1999).
A turning point in my life came in 1979. A speaker at a meeting suggested I read Rookmaaker’s brand new book Art Needs No Justification. I bought it the next day. Though less than 100 pages, this book convinced me that more Christians needed to be involved in the arts and that included me.
Last month, I examined the first of two recently published books heralding a major shift in our economy and culture: Virginia Postrel’s The Substance of Style: How the Rise of Aesthetic Value Is Remaking Commerce, Culture, and Consciousness (HarperCollins, 2003). This month, the spotlight is on Richard Florida’s The Rise of the Creative Class and How it’s Transforming Work, Leisure, Community and Everyday Life.
We now live in an aesthetic culture: an “age of look and feel.” This new focus on the sensory nature of things—their visual, tactile and emotional character—has become a major factor (perhaps even the major factor) influencing the design of the things we buy and the environment we build.
Creativity and technical facility are not enough, in and of themselves, to achieve professional excellence… I first saw evidence of this during my college years as I followed the academic progress of my peers who were studio art majors. By their final year only a handful were truly ready to be practicing artists.
Every time we enjoy the elegance of a Braun coffee maker or the sleek contours of a handheld computer, we have William Morris, in part, to thank.
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