UNITED STATES
Eastern Mennonite University
When Jerry Holsopple entered his sabbatical at Wesley Theological Seminary’s Luce Center for Art and Religion last year, he wasn’t sure where it would take him. It ended up being a journey through new ground and some rather dark valleys.
Holsopple, professor of visual and communication arts at Eastern Mennonite University, heard about the Luce Center’s Artist-in-Residence Program from a friend. It fit what Holsopple was looking for: a place where he could just focus on art, away from research and syllabi. The program provided a small stipend and an apartment on campus near a large and quiet studio space.
“Why don’t you apply?” his friend asked. And so he did.
Best known as a videographer and photographer, Holsopple instead spent his fall semester sabbatical in Washington D.C. engaging in a newer pursuit: painting. He says he “took the risk to learn how to paint” during his last sabbatical, a 2009-2010 Fulbright trip to Lithuania.
On that sabbatical, he learned the art of creating or “writing” icons in the Orthodox tradition. This time, he explored some darker places: stories of sexual abuse and the culpability of the church in some of those stories, particularly the revelations of sexual abuse by Mennonite theologian and church leader John Howard Yoder.
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