This is the first in what we hope will be a short series of articles in which we ask people questions about the work, especially in relationship to their faith. Here we inter­view Norman Shaw — a Free Church artist.

In many professions — for example, in nursing, teach­ing, the police or prison serv­ice, etc. — there is a clear aspect of service, something which is clearly compatible with a Christian outlook. But being an artist seems neither very "useful" nor very Chris­tian to many. Can you relate painting pictures to Biblical principles?

The arts, no less than science, agriculture, under­standing and wisdom are a gift from God. In this sense, art needs no justification, just as a mountain or a star, or indeed man himself need no justification. Their meaning is that they have been created by God and are sustained by him.

So art has meaning as art, because God thought it good to give art and beauty to mankind. Exodus 31:3 tells us that Bezalel was "filled with the Spirit of God ... to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze". This is the first mention in the Bible of a man being "filled with the Spirit of God", and it is not for the purpose of preaching or priestly activities but for artistic ability. Also, Exodus 25 tells us about the building of the Tabernacle, with instructions for decorative schemes and beautiful adorn­ments representing natural forms. These incidents show us that God loves beauty and has given us a sense whereby we too can enjoy it.

The function of art is both to be a "mirror" to our cul­ture and to exert an influence on that culture. The arts are also one of the greatest gifts God has given us, cheering the heart, stimulating the mind and enriching human life. Ultimately, as with all gifts, art is there to give glory to God, the greatest creator.

You, like me, were brought up in a Free Church Manse. I presume you didn't have any Constables or Turners decorating the walls. Some might think that was a most unlikely place to breed an artist. What made you want to go in for art?

Firstly I must say that we did have about five Con­stables decorating the walls — not real ones of course — a minister's stipend isn't that big!

From an early age, my main stimulus was from nature, before which I felt an irrepressible fascination and sense of wonder. This demanded expression in some form, and I looked on my art, I suppose, as a way of giving back to God what he has so liberally given us in his creation. I did enjoy my other studies, but in a way these were "feeding" my art, and in Calvin's words, "in despising the gift, we insult the giver".

My parents always encouraged and helped me, and being brought up in the freedom and beauty of the rural Highlands was a great inspiration. From a very young age I always saw some­thing "behind" what we see, an evocation of the sublime or indeed the numinous in nature; I feel that the song­writer Mike Scott summed it up best in the verse:

I have heard the Big Music
And I'll never be the same
Something so pure
Just called my name.

How did you become a Christian? And how did this affect your outlook on art?

I had been exposed to the claims of the Bible from an early age, but the first experience I had of the presence of God on an existential level was in nature. I realised in an unselfcons­cious way that behind nature is something unattainable and utterly beautiful. This "Joy" as C. S. Lewis calls it drove me to worship the one who made it all, and gradu­ally through studying the Bible the reality of sin and the redemptive work of Christ was revealed to me.

In a sense, rather than merely affecting my outlook on art, this defines it — the captivating forms of nature are given meaning in that they bear the fingerprints of their Creator, and beauty has an objective origin in God. Beyond this, on a primary level, the new person in Christ seeks God's glory in all that he/she does, including one's work, and for the artist it is particularly difficult to divorce his/her work from him/herself.

What are you actually doing at the moment? And what would you like to do in the future?

I graduated last year with an M.A. (Hons) in Fine Art from Edinburgh University — the course ran jointly with Edinburgh College of Art. I am now preparing an M.Phil. thesis, and hope in the future to balance my creative work with academic work in some way, as the two unite like soul and body.

Many ordinary people think modern art is nonsense. Some thinking people believe it to be decadent. What do you think?

• Firstly, I believe it impor­tant to realise that art exists, and that artists are men and women with distinct gifts.

• Secondly, art exists and it is influential — books have transformed cultures and the history of civilisation; music can capture the heart of a generation; and painting created and changes society's self-image.

• Thirdly, the true artist is a child of his or her culture yet, paradoxically, culture is a child of the artist. In this cen­tury the arts have been responding to and protesting about the forces, pressures and powers which have been unleashed on the age. It has been an age of disillusion and lostness and the shattered mirror of the arts has sought to reflect the true nature of contemporary reality. Certainly to explore the arts of the 20th century is to venture into a strange land where a lot of the old symbols and land­marks have disappeared — deliberately destroyed to voice a profound anguish. Modern man is helpless and his loneliness and disintegra­tion is made evident in his art. What the modern artist may reveal can be perplexing, but do we blame the mirror for the picture it reflects?

In common grace, God has given gifts to all men, for everyone's benefit. As Calvin said: "these radiations of divine light shone more bril­liantly among unbelieving people than among God's saints".

The pagan poet, painter or musician, for instance, can open our eyes to the wonder and glory of creation. Simi­larly, themes of guilt, meaninglessness or death, which occupy such a large proportion of contemporary art, are expressing a true view of the human condition.

Christians can condemn or praise, but before this is done there must be understanding. There is a need for Christian salt and light in the arts, not only by active participation but by constructive criticism and appreciation.

How can you, as a Chris­tian, operate in that setting?

We have seen that the sphere of imagination, intui­tion and creativity is as much part of God's creation as the sun, moon and stars. Like all gifts, they are given for God's glory and for our good.

In learning to work differ­ent materials and in seeking out their expressive potential­ities and the limits of differ­ent methods, the artist can learn from past masters — Christian or not, renaissance or modernist.

As in all professions, the Christian artist must work diligently and prayerfully — there are no shortcuts, and the criteria for judging works are the same for the Christian and the non-Christian artist. The Christian artist therefore has immense freedom to adopt whatever techniques are useful for his or her ends, the only restriction being with activities which are obviously sinful.

What particular pressures do you find in being a Chris­tian artist?

In an age of frantic enthusiasm for pleasure and escape from the pain and real meaning of reality through mass culture, an age of emptiness and futility, the Christian artist asks himself "how can I be relevant?"

The arts have become a minority interest and their insights and delights are only available for the few. The masses are diverted from the truths of their spiritual poverty by the forgetfulness of pleasure. Many gifted people have traded their talents for the glossy fortunes of mass media in humble obe­dience to the dictatorship of the moneymakers. There is pressure to "sellout" to the spirit of the age, yet a true Christian involvement in the arts must not seek simply to marry current trends with Christianity but confront the world with visions of reality. Escape from the problem is no solution.

It is difficult to speak when no-one wants to listen. This is a problem confronting all artists, yet the Christian artist is under pressure to seek the mythical "freedom" of the artist. When he learns from other artists, he must be care­ful not to bring in the baggage of a flawed worldview. Within the challenge to be contemporary and relevant lies the challenge to be true and honest.

Camus, an agnostic, wrote: "One of the tempta­tions of the artist is to believe himself solitary and in truth he hears this shouted at him with a certain base delight. But this is not true. He stands in the midst of all ... who are working and struggling. His very vocation, in the face of oppression, is to open the pri­sons and give voice to the sor­rows and joys of all."

Do you feel that the second commandment restricts or modifies your artistic talent in any way? Is there such a thing as Reformed religious art?

Firstly, the qualifying clause in the second com­mandment is "you shall not bow down or worship them". This is not a prohibition against the creation of images, but rather against the worship of them.

The Reformation did cause a separation between the arts and the church, and Calvin rejected the use of images for idolatrous pur­poses, yet he did not make a blanket condemnation of any of the arts. In fact he held them in high regard and valued them as a gift "given for God's glory and our good", seeing that they had an important role to play in human life.

As the Reformers stressed Christ's Lordship over all aspects of creation, this gave artists freedom to explore and disclose all spheres of his domain rather than produce works specifically for the church, as they had done in the past.

I would imagine that if artists accept religion, they accept it as simply a subjec­tive expression of some inner religious sense — just as art is a subjective expression of some aesthetic sense. Is this so? What difficulties does it create in your Christian wit­ness to artists? And what opportunities do you have in this direction?

Artists cannot be grouped under one religion or ideal­ism. There are many Chris­tian artists, even in our own denomination, but of course, the majority are not Chris­tians. An artist is expressing his or her viewpoint, his or her philosophy, and, by showing work, is trying to communicate or convince others of the truth of his or her vision. As all art reveals something of the faith of the artist, so a Christian's work will be rooted in the Christian faith. It is true that artists have formed groups which have adopted idealisms or ideas about humanity, such as surrealism, futurism, con­structivism, etc., but even within these groups the individuals can have vastly differing philosophies.

Generally artistic move­ments are rooted more in a method or "language" than in an idealism. As the arts operate through the use of myth, image and symbol, they inevitably often carry religious overtones. The residual "Christianity" in the mind of Western man has caused the occurrence of Christian symbols in art which has been created by artists who do not accept the Christian revelation and have no Christian worldview. This is a dangerous situation, and a difficult one for the Christian artist who wants to express truths such as redemption or transcendence which have now been twisted and absorbed into the new mysticism.

This does provide oppor­tunity for witness, however, to explain that this is not a vague belief, but a real faith based on truth.

I'm not sure you've answered all my questions about matters artistic — but, then, common grace didn't provide me with much in the way of artistic appreciation! I'm glad that you have obvi­ously thought deeply on the sort of questions I've asked and we hope you will know every blessing as you use your God-given gifts in this area of life.