Book Review: The Wilderness and the Desert of the Real

The Wilderness and the Desert of the Real by Geoff Hall is the first book of a four-part series in Spiritual Direction in a Postmodern Landscape. It is an illuminating landmark in a worldly terrain of illusory ideas. Hall states that after the Christian artist is called by God, he/she will traverse a personal journey through a wilderness of sorts, chosen by God—a time when the artist’s life is stripped to its bare minimum and his/her faith is “tried and tested” in preparation for the fulfillment of his/her calling. It is also a time when an intimacy with God is sought without distractions.

Hall shares that after the wilderness experience, the artist reenters ‘The Desert of the Real’ or UnReal,—the landscape of postmodern thought and Buddhist nihilism grounded in nothingness and despair—borrowed and reflected by our culture and mimicked in the art world. However, this reflection is best understood as a mirage because it’s not based on something genuine.

With this introductory essay, the author creates an exhilarating and challenging spiritual manifesto for today’s artist. It affirms the idea that our authenticity as artists arises from our personal encounter and relationship with God. Therefore, the believing artist rooted in a deep-seated Christian spirituality, strengthened through a wilderness experience, can participate in the issues of our day with an art founded in truth, revelation and redemption, as scale-tipping counterweights to the delusional thinking of our age.

You can purchase The Wilderness and the Desert of the Real  by Geoff Hall through Upptacka Press  (ISBN-13: 978-0-9568034-0-5).

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received the above mentioned book from Geoff Hall. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”