The challenge of art Christian questioning and the Review by Wesley Bullock Art provides a challenge. Since I have been on the staff of The Asbury Review for the last four semesters, its publication always comes as a satisfying completion of a long effort. For those whose work was published, it is a welcome opportunity to receive reactions from a variety of people. It is encouraging to know that one's artistic work has had an effect on someone else. Sometimes, however, the work included in the Review can be disturbing, and it has often resulted in conflict.
Conflict is an essential part of the creative process.
One of the main parts of the narrative process is the conflict, whether it is internal or external. Many of the poems, stories, photographs, drawings, and other works in the review are the result of the internal conflict of the author or artist. Art often arises out of unanswered questions, hidden tensions, or simply the challenge to create something new or to add to experience. This can create conflict in the greater community when the work of art itself is seen to challenge a cultural assumption. One of the difficulties of creating art in the Christian community is that there are many more assumptions and many more taboos within our subculture.