Cliff Edwards, a well-known Vincent van Gogh author and scholar, explores Van Gogh's second gift--the surprising written works of Van Gogh in letters to his brother, fellow artists, and friends. Edwards illuminates Van Gogh's vision and creative process for readers as a way of living and creating more deeply. Van Gogh's Second Gift gives us another side of Van Gogh, whose poetic, creative, and original mind opened up startling insights on the creative process. A perfect book for creatives and those who want to understand more about one of the world's most beloved artists, the genius creator of works like Starry Night. Focusing on more than 40 letter excerpts, Edwards offers clear background and insights into Van Gogh's life and creative ideas, as well as suggestions for reflection and personal engagement. Van Gogh sketches are scattered throughout the book.
Table of Contents:
40 EXPLORATIONS. Sample Contents Include:
CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY: Illumination ONE
Vision of the Painter Butterfly Among the Stars
CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY: Illumination TWO
Discovering the Spherical Life
CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY: Illumination THREE
Mystery of the Riddle within a Riddle
CREATIVE SPIRITUALITY: Illumination FOUR
God’s Failed Masterpiece
Each Explorations includes:
1- An "intriguing" title
2- Quoted passage from Van Gogh's letters
3- An exploration of context, insight, and relevance to the reader's own creative/spiritual explorations
4- An accompanying illustration taken from Van Gogh's Letters
About the Author :
Cliff Edwards is Powell-Edwards Distinguished Professor of Religion and the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University and a respected Vincent Van Gogh scholar. He has written several books on Van Gogh, including Van Gogh and God. Edwards lectures, leads retreats, and serves on the boards of a variety of civic, religious, and scholarly organizations. He is also a founding member of the Powell-Edwards Endowment for Religion and the Arts, bringing programs and speakers on religion and the arts to Virginia Commonwealth University and the city of Richmond, Virginia.
Review :
"Edwards introduces these intimate, moving epistles, placing them in the context of Van Gogh's life, his evolving creative journey, and his personal struggles. This book is a perfect resource for spiritually minded individuals looking to see the world in new ways. This lovely little book is itself a gift." --Dr. Aaron Rosen, Director, Henry Luce III Center for the Arts & Religion
"Finally someone opens up for us Vincent's deepest quest and convincingly shows that the art of the Dutch painter is of deep theological and spiritual significance." --Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996), former Yale professor, psychologist, priest, and spiritual writer
"This is a superb work. The author's fearless journey into the life of Van Gogh and the interiority of the writing take the reader into solitude, loneliness, labor, triumph, and sorrow. We tread with this book the very path Van Gogh himself hesitated on and wrestled with himself on: the seeming contradiction between the intellect and the spirit in art." --Elizabeth C. King, professor, Guggenheim Fellow, and recipient of the Academy Award of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
"[Edwards' work] exudes not only scholarship but something immeasurably more essential: a warm humaneness commensurate with this archetypically human being, the archetypal artist, Vincent van Gogh." --Fredrick Franck, author and artist, fellow of the Society for Art, Religion and Culture
"Edwards's revisioning of the influences of religion on both [Van Gogh] and his paintings ... provide a provocative response to a series of questions raised in the fields of art history, cultural studies, visual culture, psychology, and art and religion." --Diane Apostolos-Cappadona, author and professor, Georgetown University
"[Cliff Edwards' work] extends a compelling invitation to sit at the feet of a master teacher as he takes readers on a fascinating, heartbreaking, and heart-healing journey to discover what has never been . . . Gorgeous, inspiring, and wise." --Kristin M. Swenson, author of God of Earth
