{"id":246,"date":"2012-05-25T22:08:15","date_gmt":"2012-05-26T02:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/?p=246"},"modified":"2019-03-24T07:17:26","modified_gmt":"2019-03-24T11:17:26","slug":"in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/","title":{"rendered":"In Defense of Thomas Kinkade"},"content":{"rendered":"

First, let me make it clear that I am not defending Thomas Kinkade’s artistic talent or sensibilities.\u00a0 I am neither an art critic nor an art conisseur, and am entirely unqualified to make such a defense if, indeed, one is justified.\u00a0 This doesn’t bother me too much because even though I like and want to appreciate art, I have a rather low opinion of art critics and the art world in general based on almost exclusively hearing silly nonsense from that quarter.\u00a0 Now, because I do want to appreciate “real” art, I myself dislike Christian industrial art.\u00a0 This is because I dislike industrial art as such and don’t want it associated with Christianity.\u00a0 But frankly, when Christians join up with art critics in condemnations of Kinkade, it reminds me of the second-least popular kid in school joining others in making fun of the least popular kid in school.\u00a0 For such children, it’s a rare pleasure to be able to dismiss others as inferior, and though they themselves regularly suffer from such dismissal, their participation does let them feel like the popular kids for a brief moment.\u00a0 Maybe the critics’ motivations are pure–I have no way of knowing one way or another–but that is the impression I get from these pile-on moments.<\/p>\n

What I do want to defend the late Mr. Kinkade against specifically is a theological charge that I see cropping up:\u00a0 that by imagining and painting a world without a Fall, he is rejecting grace, teaching works righteousness, and instructing us that all we and the world need is a little sprucing up.\u00a0 Most recently, this post by Daniel Siedell <\/a>on the subject has been making the rounds and receiving plenty of praise as it goes.<\/p>\n

I find it quite instructive that in Scripture, God provides the very thing Kinkade attempted to provide in his own work–regardless of how well or poorly he carried it out.\u00a0 A perusal of both Old and New Testament (especially the Prophets and Revelation) reveals numerous expressions of an unfallen world that make use of images from this one.\u00a0 You see this at the beginning of Genesis, obviously.\u00a0 But lest anyone see that as mere<\/em> historical fact, you routinely see the theme of a new creation throughout scripture–a creation in which sin has no place. “And death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Rev 21:4).\u00a0 “For behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy and her people to be a gladness.\u00a0 I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress.\u00a0 No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days or an old man who does not fill out his days…\u00a0 The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox.”\u00a0 (Isaiah 65:18-20,25).\u00a0 Nature without carnivorous slaughter? How “trite, uninteresting, and sentimental!” Nevertheless, according to God, the “fear, anger, and desperation” that make up Siedell’s “Light” will be completely absent in the new creation.<\/p>\n

Surely this does not mean that scripture “denies the very foundation of our relationship to God in Christ” by painting these word pictures.\u00a0 On the contrary, they dovetail beautifully with that very message of our reconciliation to God in Christ.\u00a0 After all, being saved so that after we die of cancer on Earth, we can eternally suffer from cancer in a gritty and “real” Heaven is not the Gospel.\u00a0 On the contrary, we are being saved so that we can live in perfect innocence and blessedness with God forever–in a real and<\/em> sinless world.\u00a0 We are going to be led back to a new Eden and our lives put in order.<\/p>\n

I, for one, am very glad that God has made this clear to us.\u00a0 You see, there are two parts to really understanding that this fallen world is not our true home no matter how much we try to spruce it up.\u00a0 The first is indeed what Mr. Siedell points out: the recognition that this world is dirty and gritty.\u00a0 This is true and I’m quite glad there is art that captures this.\u00a0 The second part, however, which the critics seem to take entirely for granted, is that there really is such a thing as “home.”\u00a0 Without that second understanding, the true realization that the world is a nasty place is just shallow nihilism–nothing matters or has any value.\u00a0 If “home” is a meaningless concept, you cannot say that the world is not your home; all you can say is that the world stinks.<\/p>\n

With such a clearly legitimate purpose to serve, it appalls me that Christian critics jump on Kinkade’s attempt to paint a world without the Fall and then attach nefarious purposes like “His images give us a world that\u2019s really okay, a world in which all we need is home and hearth, a weekend retreat, a cozy night with the family to put us right with God.”\u00a0 Where did this come from?\u00a0 Where exactly did an attempt to crystallize the abstract concept of “home” in canvas and paint transform into instructions on justifying ourselves before God through works?\u00a0 Could someone take it that way?\u00a0 Sure, but one can take “thou shalt not murder” that way as well.\u00a0 I have yet to see anyone make the case that it must necessarily<\/em> be taken that way or that Kinkade intended<\/em> it to be taken that way.\u00a0 Without such evidence, this whole charade is merely an exercise in bearing false witness against our late neighbor.\u00a0 Why should he have “felt excruciating pressure to live up to these paintings?”\u00a0 I don’t typically feel excruciating pressure to live up to the end of Isaiah or Revelation–I feel relief that God has both promised and achieved such a world for us<\/em>.\u00a0 I feel the same thing when I see “A Peaceful Retreat”–comfort that our struggle with sin will end.<\/p>\n

Is showing an unfallen world insufficient on it’s own for teaching that this world is not our home?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Does it fail to teach Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf?\u00a0 Yes.\u00a0 Well, eating only bananas is insufficient for proper nutrition, and I don’t see people leaping up to condemn Chiquita on those grounds.\u00a0 Is staying exclusively within the safe confines of Thomas Kinkade healthy?\u00a0 Certainly not.\u00a0 But if that’s the charge being made here, it’s hidden within quite a bit of vitriol directed towards Kinkade personally and his work as such rather than any abuse thereof.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First, let me make it clear that I am not defending Thomas Kinkade’s artistic talent or sensibilities.\u00a0 I am neither an art critic nor an art conisseur, and am entirely unqualified to make such a defense if, indeed, one is … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,9,32],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nIn Defense of Thomas Kinkade - The 96th Thesis<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Defense of Thomas Kinkade - The 96th Thesis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"First, let me make it clear that I am not defending Thomas Kinkade’s artistic talent or sensibilities.\u00a0 I am neither an art critic nor an art conisseur, and am entirely unqualified to make such a defense if, indeed, one is … Continue reading →\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The 96th Thesis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-26T02:08:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-24T11:17:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@matt_e_cochran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@matt_e_cochran\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Matt\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Matt\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/026b49396f19b6940e8bb4a68d94b5fa\"},\"headline\":\"In Defense of Thomas Kinkade\",\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-26T02:08:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-24T11:17:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\"},\"wordCount\":1102,\"commentCount\":1,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/026b49396f19b6940e8bb4a68d94b5fa\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Culture\",\"Lutheranism\",\"Theological Pietism\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\",\"name\":\"In Defense of Thomas Kinkade - The 96th Thesis\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-05-26T02:08:15+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-24T11:17:26+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/in-defense-of-thomas-kinkade\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"In Defense of Thomas Kinkade\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/matthewcochran.net\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The 96th Thesis\",\"description\":\"The Devil Never Sleeps; 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