MAKING A PLACE ON EARTH: PARTICIPATION IN CREATION AND REDEMPTION THROUGH PLACEMAKING AND THE ARTS Jennifer Allen Craft A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St Andrews 2013 Full metadata for this item is available in St Andrews Research Repository at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/3732 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons Licence UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS ST MARY’S COLLEGE INSTITUTE FOR THEOLOGY, IMAGINATION AND THE ARTS MAKING A PLACE ON EARTH: PARTICIPATION IN CREATION AND REDEMPTION THROUGH PLACEMAKING AND THE ARTS A THESIS SUBMITTED BY: JENNIFER ALLEN CRAFT UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF TREVOR HART TO THE FACULTY OF DIVINITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND MARCH 2013 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Declarations 3 Acknowledgements and Dedication 5 Abstract 7 General Introduction 8 1 The Wide Horizons of Place: An Introduction to Place and Placemaking 16 §1: A Theological Engagement with Place and Placemaking 45 2 Placemaking in the Community of Creation: The Theological Significance of Place in Genesis 1-3 47 3 Divine and Human Placemaking in the Tabernacle and Temple: Place, Human Artistry, and Divine Presence 70 4 Making a Place on Earth: Divine Presence, Particularity, and Place in the Incarnation and its Implications for Human Participation in Creation and Redemption through Placemaking 93 Summary of Section One 125 §2: Theology in Practice: Placemaking and the Arts 128 5 Placemaking and the Arts: Towards an Artistic Theology of Place and a Place-Based Theology of the Arts 129 6 Particularity and Presence in the Landscape: Mapping the Experience of Place in the Work of Marlene Creates 161 7 Crafting a Place in Gee’s Bend, Alabama: How Quilting Cultivates a Sense of Place and Community 179 8 Placemaking in the Membership of Port William: Wendell Berry on Place, Community, and a Local Imagination 204 Final Conclusions 230 Appendix A 234 Bibliography 244 3 DECLARATIONS 1. Candidate’s declarations: I, Jennifer Allen Craft, hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 85,593 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in September 2009 and as a candidate for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in April 2010; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2009 and 2013. Date: Signature of candidate: 2. Supervisor’s declaration: I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. Date: Signature of supervisor: 3. Permission for electronic publication: (to be signed by both candidate and supervisor) In submitting this thesis to the University of St Andrews I understand that I am giving permission for it to be made available for use in accordance with the regulations of the University Library for the time being in force, subject to any copyright vested in the work not being affected thereby. I also understand that the title and the abstract will be published, and that a copy of the work may be made and supplied to any bona fide library or research worker, that my thesis will be electronically accessible for personal or research use unless exempt by award of an embargo as requested below, and that the library has the right to migrate my thesis into new electronic forms as required to ensure continued access to the thesis. I have obtained any third-party copyright permissions that may be required in order to allow such access and migration, or have requested the appropriate embargo below. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: (iii) Embargo on both all of printed copy and electronic copy for the same fixed period of 3 years on the following ground(s): Publication would preclude future publication Date: Signature of candidate: Date: Signature of supervisor: 4 Note on Embargo Request: I, Jennifer Craft, request an embargo on the entire thesis for three years due to the fact that I am seeking publication of its manuscript after submission. I will not be altering the form of the thesis in any radical form, and therefore, access to the document may be damaging for contract with a publisher. Three years should provide sufficient time for the manuscript to be published while allowing enough space between publication and access to the thesis document through University of St. Andrews. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The image of a quilt seems an appropriate metaphor for a project like this. Many pieces have to be sewn together to make a complete picture. And while sometimes you get to the end and you notice it’s a little lopsided, the process of making it—the love that is poured into it—allows you to relinquish all other possibilities and perfections that could have been. Like a quilt is made up of many pieces, there are a number of people who contribute to a work like this. The entire faculty of the Institute for Theology, Imagination, and the Arts has been encouraging and helpful along my journey. My supervisor, Trevor Hart, has been indispensible in directing my thoughts and (often muddled) writing into a cohesive project, and without his guidance I most certainly would have failed to “find my place” in the discipline of theology and the arts. David Brown, Gavin Hopps, and Michael Partridge were also formative influences on my thought on place, art, and theology. I also have a number of friends and colleagues at St. Andrews and elsewhere to thank for their community, conversation, and encouragement along the way. At St. Andrews, my work with the contributors of Transpositions has provided a place for me to get ideas out, often in rudimentary form, without fear of criticism (except that of a constructive kind)—especially Anna Blanch, Jim Watkins, Wes Vander Lugt, Sara Schumacher, Dave Reinhardt, and Cole Matson. Ryan Mullins has also been a constant help in reading drafts, encouraging more philosophical thinking about matters, and by providing the close friendship and sense of connection to home needed to survive there. Of special note outside the school of theology, but a central part of my time in St. Andrews, Leonard and Maria Randall have provided both dear friendship and academic support. With them, I was able to have countless conversations about the significance of place, why Wendell Berry is so wonderful, and what it means to call a place “home.” Without them, I most certainly would have felt even more “out of place” than I did during my time there. Others from outside the University of St. Andrews have also helped me along the way by reading drafts, often in multiple and disoriented stages. These include Stephen Waers, Joseph Schmitt, and several members of the faculty at Point University, where I now work: Barry Blackburn, Holly Carey, Steve Hooks, and DJ Dycus. My Aunt Barbara and Uncle Jim deserve special note, as they have read everything I have written along the way. Their support and love cannot be discounted when it comes to my having finished this thesis. I especially could not have asked for better or more supportive parents. Mom and Dad, in this and everything else, you have always championed whatever I chose to do, and without you I would not be in the place I am today. Your pride in my work has been a constant reminder that someone cares, and for that I am truly grateful. Finally, and most importantly, I am filled with gratitude for the immeasurable support of my husband, Brandon. In his quickness not only to move to Scotland, but to support me there, to forgive my faults, and to be compassionate towards all those he met along the way, he has truly taught me what it means to live and love as Christ. He has taught me more about what it means to have love and fidelity to a place than any book. My thought and theology cannot be separated from his influence and devotion to both me and our place together. This thesis is dedicated, then, to you, Brandon, as there is none other I can imagine making a place in this world with. 6 For Brandon, my faithful partner in place 7 ABSTRACT This thesis will explore a theology of place and placemaking that is focused on the participatory role of humans in both creation and redemption, while suggesting the central and paradigmatic role of artistry in our construction of and identification with place. Building on the most recent theological and philosophical engagement with place, this thesis will argue for a theology of place that takes seriously the doctrines of creation and incarnation, focusing on a particularly redemptive understanding of placemaking in the material world. In its study of scripture and theology, it will focus on God’s blessing of people to participate in the making of places, along with the role this human making has in relationship to divine presence and the divine plan for creation and redemption. After developing a theology of place and placemaking more generally, the second half of this thesis will consider the practical, constructive, and transformative capabilities of placemaking as witnessed through the arts.