Author(s): CAVALLIN CLEMENS

Art & Architecture

This work is a profound and illuminating conversation between two Catholic artists who are also gifted writers. The setting is a house in the woods near Combermere, Canada. The two men are alone, free to explore the wellsprings of Christian art and the suffering that its creation entails.

This moving discussion between the two artists and writers is not theoretical. It lays bare the anguish and the joy of a life lived in the service of an artist's vocation. Includes an eight-page art insert.

Christ and the Church ask Christian artists to be willing to suffer in order to give birth to such works. In the age of comfort and materialism, many artists draw back in revulsion from this invitation and, like the rich young man in the Gospel, turn sadly away. They fail to understand that within the mystery of suffering with Christ is hidden a great joy, and inexhaustible riches.
-- Michael D. O'Brien, from Remembrance of the Future

Michael O'Brien's images arrest viewers in the here and now before propelling them into the depths of spirituality. His story recalls that of Fra Angelico--living Truth while pain