Alexis CollinsUSCH 1112SPU Art Analysis I feel that the art of Seattle Pacific University has a dichotomy of purposes. First, the art attempts to convey reality: what the school is and what it truly stands for. Or else it conveys a form of inspirational goal. The first art piece I examined was The Falconer sculpture in the Student Union Board. The statue in question is a man composed of strips that allow us to see his hollow interior. He is standing contrapposto, with a falcon perched on his shoulder. I did not like this piece at all. It felt as though someone was trying too hard to be "Seattlesque" by being strange and eerie. It felt like it was trying to say, "Look! We are totally cool like Seattle. We even have ugly pieces of modern art to prove it." Not only was the sculpture aesthetically displeasing in general, it largely lacks depth. The character holding the falcon is hollow, shallow even. That does not speak well to the characters SPU builds at all. Is the piece trying to convey that SPU is full of students who are empty, and whose focuses are all on the sports teams? Or is it saying that students who come here can hope to be like this character? Either way, I see nothing admirable about it. The sculpture seriously lacked meaning and aesthetic appeal.The next painting The Historic Church in an Ominous World, is a little better, but not quite as high quality art as I would hope for the school. It depicts an old time church building surrounded by dark gray and brown clouds. The atmosphere the painting is going for is quite admirable; and it serves as a reminder that we are a part of the persecuted church. This idea is often lost. The first problem I have with this painting is that it seems to lack a lot of skill. It just seems very two-dimensional. The other "issue" (per se) that I have is that I do not feel SPU embodies this mindset at all. The school motto is "Engage the Culture, Change the World," however, my SPU career has led me to believe that its motto should be changed to "Engage the Culture, Embrace the World." I've seen very little evidence that SPU has honored the Classical/Historic church at all; nor do I believe SPU students on average really understand what it means to live in an ominous world. Almost all SPU students that I have encountered believe everything is acceptable under the sun; as if the world isn't dark and ominous around us. They don't respect the historic church and what it stands for, and I feel that this art piece, even though two-dimensional, is too good for SPU because it is being dishonored and ignored.A somewhat overplayed, but at the same time extremely powerful, modern piece of art I feel SPU should incorporate is Thomas Blackshear's Forgiven. This piece depicts a modern man (evident based upon his jeans and red T-shirt) crippled and unconscious, with what is evidently Jesus Christ having caught him. The man holds a large hammer in his hand, and his jeans are dirtied, as if he has just been working very hard. Surrounding them are a number of Easter lilies. All around this man is darkness, except the light which emanates from Christ. The first minor thing I appreciate about this picture is the fact the Jesus's face is cloaked, providing some level of ambiguity regarding His race. One of my ongoing pet peeves, is portrayals of Christ as exclusively Caucasian, which this painting (kind of) eliminates. I love the brokenness conveyed in the man. He is torn apart, dirty, injured, and all around broken. This is a place where many of us have been spiritually, and I think that in college, as well as all throughout life, we can often feel broken and in the dark. This painting reminds me that everything is alright; Jesus has me. It also gives the sense that Jesus is our only true hope of illumination. Trusting in God can be difficult. It is easy to be bogged down by our insecurities and to turn to those things which cannot truly help us, like our own strengths. It is more hopeful than the Historic Church, because we dont have to depend on our own strengths to fight the darkness, nor are we completely alone in the world.Overall, I want the art at SPU to remind us who we are, how broken we are. Unlike the falconer statue, we are not all buff and we do not have it all together. We are all weak and need to depend on God for everything in our lives. The Historic Church embodies this, and I would like to see more like it incorporated.