Posts tagged season 12
S12 E05: Finding Your Place with Esau McCaulley

When we think of identity, we often point to our distinguishing characteristics and individual preferences. But what about our sense of place? How does place impact the people we become and the art we make? 

In today’s episode, award-winning author and professor Esau McCaulley talks with me about the impact of place on his life and how growing up in a poverty-stricken Alabama town informs the writing of his upcoming memoir, How Far To The Promised Land.

Patrons of the podcast can enjoy an additional interview segment with Professor McCaulley on finding your voice as an artist.

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S12 Trailer: Art & Identity

Like our art, our sense of identity is never static. It is ever changing, ever evolving, ever growing and ever becoming.  Our identity is composed of the heritage we are given, the relationships we foster, the places we live, our beliefs, interests and experiences. Our sense of identity is reflected back to us through the mirroring lens of what we behold.

On one level, you could say identity is a library of memories and desires that form the narrative arc of our lives. But what are roots of identity? What is the soil from which it grows? Is there something deeper that constitutes a pure and unchanging self? One perhaps that has existed from eternity. And who are we apart from these outer layers that clothe the naked soul and form our personalities? 

For the maker our creative works are intimately woven into the fabric of our being and for the mystic, the core of our identity is rooted in the unchanging love of God.

What then is the relationship between our art and our sense of self? How does our art-making shape our sense of self? Does our well being depend upon the success or public reception of our creations? Does the praise or indifference of an audience determine our self worth?  

For the artist of faith, what is the proper way to understand this relationship between our art and our identity? Is our art separate from our core, spiritual identity? Or is our art as an overflow of who we are, budding forth but attached like a flowering stem?

 These are among the questions we will be exploring in Season 12 of the podcast. 

We’ll be hearing from well-known artists and musicians, theologians, and creative thinkers from a wide variety of disciplines. Be sure to subscribe and follow along to be a part of the conversations.

Series Starts Tuesday August 1st

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