Support Summer Program for a K-12 Catholic School That Will Form Sacred Artists
Earlier this year, I was approached recently by a friend of mine, Dr. Brandon Cook, who lives in Los Angeles, and had a great idea. He proposed the establishment of a Catholic K-12 school in the model of a choir school, which apart from the core subjects, would focus on the rigorous pre-college development of artists and architects who can serve the Church through the creation of sacred art. Young people can benefit from the discipline of learning to draw and paint at an early age; aside from developing a skill, in conjunction with an appropriate broader education, they also develop the sensibilities and taste for what is truly beautiful. An architect clearly requires advanced college-level academic study, but this school could still prepare students for college by sending them to architecture school with what mainstream architecture school will not give them. The aim of such a pre-college education would be to offer a Catholic inculturation and a formation that gives students an understanding of traditional design principles and harmonious proportion that could be applied later on, as well as (e.g.) a deep knowledge of how art and architecture work together in a well-designed church.
This project is in its early days, but I think that Brandon, who has a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies with a focus on art history from the University of Notre Dame, might have come up with an idea that could create a stream of modern masters. I am posting this in order to help generate support for what I believe to be a wonderful and worthy project.
It is often stated that one of the reasons that the quality of artists today is lower than so many of the past is that in the past artists began their training as boys, as assistants to master artists. This drawing was done by Durer when he was just 13 years old.
While this self-portrait was done by Anthony Van Dyck when he was just 15 years old.
Both had begun their training as young boys, and these examples, for all that they are well executed, do not represent the culmination of their training; rather they both developed further after this. Van Dyck began at the age of 10, and so he had been studying for five years when he painted the self-portrait above. He continued to train after this (ultimately moving to the studio of Rubens), and he was with Rubens at the age of 21 when he painted this portrait of Cornelius van der Geest. We can see how much his technique has improved since he painted that self-portrait, now as a result of 11 more years of painting.
Here is some more information supplied by Brandon first about the proposed summer school, then about the K-12 academy, and then a little more about Brandon himself (I pushed him a bit to supply some personal details!). There will be more postings as the project develops.
The son of an American diplomat, Brandon Cook was born in Washington D.C., grew up in Virginia, and spent his high school years in Pakistan and Hungary. The arts—especially the visual arts—have played an important role in his conversion to and growth in the Catholic faith. His desire to learn more about the faith and the intellectual and artistic heritage of the Church ultimately led him to complete a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies with a focus on art history at the University of Notre Dame. Further driven to promote and foster a community of Catholic sacred artists among the youth of the Church, Brandon founded the LA Sacred Arts Summer School. In addition to his Ph.D. from Notre Dame, Brandon has a B.A. from Yale University and an M.A. in Art History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is currently a private tutor and home school teacher in the Los Angeles area.
This is a Catholic start-up, and we are in need of assistance. If you would like to participate as a teacher, administrator, fundraiser or donor, please, contact LA-SASS Director Brandon Cook for more information at [email protected].”
Barcelona Cathedral, original designed by Gaudi, is scheduled to be finished in 2026 after 144 years’ work. |
Source: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2021/12/support-summer-program-for-k-12.html
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