Visions of the Sacred: Conversations with Bahá’í Artists began as a doctoral dissertation. Through a variety of experiences, Kim MacQueen came to understand that the arts are not only integral to our appreciation of beauty, but can also challenge us to confront the realities of the world, delight and inspire us, make us laugh, and invite us into a sense of wonder—and so much more.
“I became deeply interested in what artists who are members of the Bahá’í Faith could teach us about the essence, purpose, and power of the arts in individuals and society. The arts can encourage our capacity to sense what spirituality means. The dissertation work allowed me to interview 12 accomplished, seasoned artists. All are specially skilled in their field, and each has been eloquent about their work that includes different styles of visual art, music, architecture, pottery, and sculpture.”
Dr. Kim MacQueen
With much gratitude to the artists, the editors of ABS, the project videographer (Julian MacQueen), video editor (Aaron Ball), and web developer (Lisa Puzon).
Particular thanks to the best of supporter, Dr. John S. Hatcher, who wrote of the book:
“For me, one useful notion is to view the artists among us as kinesthetic receptors for society, indicating how we are doing, how we got here, and, most important of all, where we are likely to end up. This is the beauty of Kim MacQueen’s attentive and enlightening exploration into the work and methods of twelve Bahá’í artists. She allows us to examine how a shared spiritual inspiration can be translated into varied artistic forms and imaginative modes. In this study, she demonstrates that the creative impulse, even if drawing on the same essential source—the coherent framework of reality that the Bahá’í Faith provides—produces an array of artistic responses, like the array of colors that emanate from a prism by a single beam of light.”