Visual aids a link between arts and theology at Avondale
Cameron Fletcher
Bachelor of Arts student
Avondale College of Higher Education
Cooranbong, New South Wales, Australia
They preached, and they painted.
Rose-lee Power with a visual aid hand painted by an Avondale theology student.
Credit: Brenton Stacey.
As early as 1960, theology students at the Australasian Missionary College were required to study the arts so they could produce visual aids for evangelistic programs and ministry. Morriss Kennedy, a lecturer at the time, and was largely responsible for the initiative.
“He was an innovator,” says Rose-lee Power, curator of the Adventist Heritage Centre, which has only a few of the paintings in its collection. “As an artist, he saw everything visually, so he wanted to teach others to see visually as well.”
The students found the class challenging but enjoyed the practice of painting, explains Rose. Some continued to create other works of art but many resorted to hiring professional artists such as Mel Skinner, who was also a minister.
Not all students were fond of the decision. Pr Ross Goldstone, a retired Seventh-day Adventist minister who studied under Morriss, believes that although some theologians may have the artistic skills to complement those in ministry, this is not universally the case. “I’m better with words than I am with a paintbrush,” he says.
Though now showing their age, the works produced by the artist–theologians in training were often conceptually unique and showed a vibrant creativity. “It was a good idea that they learned how to get a message across visually, because a lot of people are visually orientated and we tend to speak only in words and not in pictures,” says Rose-lee. “Often a picture can say more than a few words can.”
Pr Russell Kranz would agree. The retired minister, whose Bible lands watercolour exhibition Avondale Libraries hosted for the past two months, was adamant art and Christianity go together. “The Bible is full of images.”
Contact the Adventist Heritage Centre ([email protected]) if you have items you wish to donate that relate to the work of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the South Pacific.