Studiolo Empyrean
Art Celestialism
A contemporary revivalist movement that unifies theological understanding with both traditional and modern artistic conventions by harmonizing the divine aspects of intrinsic meaning and faithfulness in equal parts with the making of artistic forms and practice of artistic styles.
The Original Art
In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. The first of all actions was one of creation. While humans are not capable of creation on par with the divine, we do have the gift of partaking in the essence of creation. We do not create, instead we re-create. We make from what is and what is within us. Energy is expended and measured in careful means as we exchange matter for matter, shifting forms into new forms, and altering worldly functions through time as our main mode of change. Simply put, we make and we re-make.
Manifesto
Eternity and the concept of the divine has inspired mankind since we first began to think and dream. This inspired yearning is built into the very foundation of our souls; carrying all the way back to the time of Adam. The nature of our world and the greater nature of the cosmos holds a daunting call to explore and observe; a calling that reaches deep into our being. This majesty we see glimpses of are what some may consider to be the fingerprints of a higher power, echoes of a place beyond our confines that beckons us to know more. There is a hole in man’s heart that only God can fill. The mind and the soul of humanity yearns for exposition and understanding. In our journey to get closer to Him and live as He decrees, this hole becomes smaller and the blackness lightens ever more.
Celestialism is an approach to these ideas and notions. As the name implies, the focus is on the higher, the greater, the ultimate domain where supreme order and authority derives; the kingdom and throne from where God rules and ordinates the universe. The use of cosmic forms, shapes, colors, materials and motifs express this concept. This theme is married to theological wisdom and faithful practice to create the art form known as ‘Celestialism’. Celestialism is as much an expression of faith as it is an expression of the arts. When we make and remake we partake in God’s image; the image we were made in. By making in the way that pleases Him most is a Celestialistic making; and the artist a believer, knowingly or otherwise.
As He calls us, no matter where we are, the time we live in, the culture we are part of, or the origins we emerge from, all are capable of Celestialism. It is a core aspect that no one should be disuaded to make and be kept from wishing to learn. In Christ there is no Jew or Gentile, Man or Woman, we are one in Him and this unification is part of the spirit of Celestial art. This is our mandate, to work as one in service of The Lord our God in the manner we as makers and creatives know best. We speak in the language of the arts, a language older than the earth, a language and dialect known well by God.
“The pure act of Creation is an art form that belongs only to GOD. All our efforts of creation are mere makings and remakings of an even greater work. Pitiful and lowly imitators are we who claim to be artists. There is only One true Artist, and we are His many works."
⁃ Benjamin Burchfield, Thesis Statement on The Original Art