catapult magazine

Art on display

by The *cino staff

What’s going on with the gallery? Is it broken?

When we switched the magazine site over to catapultmagazine.com, the gallery got a bit lost in the shuffle. It’s a bit like the guest bedroom: quite overdue for reorganizing and remodeling. When it reemerges, we’ll no doubt make a big deal out of it, so you won’t miss the event. Plans for the new gallery include links with every piece that will reference artists’ bios, links to more work by the artist, allowing visitors to comment on artwork, and providing information about how to purchase pieces that are for sale. These features will make the gallery a more effective tool for both artists and site members.

Why does catapult have a gallery?

One of the most difficult vocations for anyone to engage in is art. For some, there’s a pull that can’t be ignored, an irresistible urge to paint or make music or write or sculpt, but our society makes indulging these passions in an economically viable way very difficult. To many, art seems like a frivolous “extra” and few of us have a good concept of the true value of artwork.

In order to support artists who are Christian and who are often misunderstood by both the art and church communities, catapult has a gallery to lift up artwork that is excellent, emerging from a desire to be honest and obedient as a follower of Christ. We also occasionally publish the work of non-believers when the work contains the honesty, beauty and integrity that are common to us as creatures made in God’s creative image.

What should I do if I would like to submit something to the gallery?

The gallery features all forms of artwork, including plays, poetry, paintings, music, drawings, photographs, etc. To submit a piece, send it to kirstinvgr@cultureisnotoptional.com. Don’t be disappointed if your piece does not appear for a while; we only have one web guru who’s quite busy with other online projects for *cino. The gallery will be back up ASAP. The editor will then select submissions according to the issue topic. See the Life Worth Saving issue for examples of artwork relevant to the issue topic (you can’t click on the art, but you can at least see the thumbnails), as well as a feature called “”http://www.catapultmagazine.com/issues/article.cfm?issue=11&article=106" target="_blank">Waiting for Madison" that utilized photographs to help tell a story and explore the topic of capital punishment.

What are some of the *cino community’s favorite gallery pieces from past issues?

We’re impressed with the ability of our site members to remember some particular pieces in spite of not being able to visit the gallery. One of our site members writes, “I loved some of Laryn Bakker’s pics. The Ronald MacDonald sans head was wonderful and the picture of the naked guy bathing on the colorful cliff was outstanding. Not in a male porn kind of way but just a very very good picture.” Another member remembers “Dark Places (Angle One and Two)” as being particularly noteworthy.