Panel will muse on questions about ‘listening to the work,’ the creative process

Madeleine insisted, “The largest job of the artist is to listen to the work.”

This listening is one of the ways, she believed, that we become co-creators with God. But, practically speaking, what does it mean to listen to what the work is trying to express or be? How do artists in various mediums allow their work a measure of free will?

Four artists will reflect on those questions and share what goes into their creative processes, during the “Listening to the Work” artists panel at the first Madeleine L’Engle Walking on Water Conference in New York City.

Musician in Residence Audrey Assad, artist and writer Albert Pedulla, and visual artist Joyce Yu-Jean Lee will participate in the panel, moderated by Seth Little, who directs arts programming for All Angels’ Church in Manhattan.

 

Audrey Assad is the daughter of a Syrian refugee, an author, speaker, record producer, and critically laudedsongwriter and musician. She refers to her music as “soundtracks for prayer,” and cites Madeleine as an inspiration.

Albert Pedulla is an artist, and occasional writer and curator. Fun fact: he designed and built Madeleine’s bedroom furniture and writing desk. He’s written on art for the journals Image, Comment and Seen. He also served on the Board of Directors of Christians in the Visual Arts (CIVA) for 16 years.

Joyce Yu-Jean Lee is a visual artist working with video, digital photography and interactive installation. Her artwork examines how mass media and visual culture shape notions of truth and understanding of the “other.” Her project about Internet censorship, FIREWALL, garnered backlash from Chinese state authorities in 2016 and was presented at Lincoln Center in NYC and the Oslo Freedom Forum in Norway. She has exhibited internationally, receiving support and press from a wide variety of publications and groups. She is based in NYC and teaches as an Assistant Professor of Art & Digital Media at Marist College.

The artists’ panel is part of the festivities on Saturday, Nov. 16, at the Walking on Water Conference. For a detailed schedule and to lock in your place at the event, check out the registration page.

Can’t wait to see you in NYC!

~Erin F. Wasinger, for MadeleineLEngle.com.