‘Ex Nihilo’: Aliens, A.I. and God’s First Rodeo
Every spring, Transept—a practicing artist’s group within the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts (ITIA)—hosts an art exhibit, culminating in an evening of…
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Is it Possible?’: The Problem of Evil (and Good) in the Films of Scott Derrickson and Paul Harris Boardman
What do horror movies have to do with religion, and with Christian faith in particular? What is worthwhile about a genre in which evil…
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Our Poisoned Apples: Sin, Guilt And Hope In Oppenheimer
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. For this, he was chained to a rock and tortured for eternity. —…
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The Immachinate Conception: Thomas Pynchon’s Gravity’s Rainbow, A.I. And The Modern ‘Black Box’ God
Contrary to what we like to believe today, humans quite easily fall into obeying others, and any sufficiently advanced AI is indistinguishable from God….
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Wormholes To Joy: On Making ‘Fig Tree’
My piece for the Enfolding exhibition, a series of drawings called ‘Fig Tree’, was born out of a desire to communicate visually some of…
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Review: Imagining Our Neighbors As Ourselves by Mary W. McCampbell
Matthew Nelson reviews Mary McCampbell’s latest book on art and empathy. Mary W. McCampbell, Imagining Our Neighbors as Ourselves: How Art Shapes Empathy. Minneapolis: Fortress Press,…
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Through Hell To Beauty – The V-Shaped Artistic Process
Over the next four weeks, Transpositions will be publishing a series of articles in which artists exhibiting in the Transept Interface exhibition reflect on their creative process. These…
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Thirsting For God – Midnight Mass, ‘Bloodthirsty’ Religion, And The American Gothic Nightmare
Matthew Nelson reflects upon Mike Flanagan’s new Netflix show, Midnight Mass, a masterful—and disturbing—tale in the Gothic tradition that engages questions of faith, religion ….
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