About the Artwork:
Wildly Dancing Children
Emil Nolde
Oil on canvas
1909
73 cm x 88 cm
Kunsthalle zu Kiel
Kiel, Germany

Nolde was a member of Die Brücke, a group of expressionist artists who shared an interest in expression of extreme emotion through high-keyed, non-naturalistic colors and abstraction. They were heavily interested in dance since it exemplifies self-expression through its ability to be spontaneous, abstract, and expressive without concern for formalized techniques and traditional compositions. Nolde's painting of children dancing expresses unadulterated and unrestrained joy through the use of colorful, dynamic brushstrokes.

About the Artist:
Emil Nolde (1867–1956) was a Danish-born German painter and printmaker. He was one of the first Expressionists; a member of the revolutionary art group called “Die Brücke,” and is considered to be one of the greatest oil and watercolor painters of the 20th century. Nolde explored typical Expressionist themes of urban nightlife, but had a more abiding interest in biblical scenes and landscapes, as well as "primitive" and phantasmagorical subjects. Nolde was responsible for re-introducing religious subject matter into painting during the early 20th century. Although based on stories from the Old and New Testaments, his intensely colored compositions abstracted and crudely exaggerated forms to delineate figures in a compressed and flattened space. He carried these ideas over into his watercolor paintings and injected them with a vitality that was previously not associated with the medium. Despite Nolde’s initial support of the National Socialist Party, his work was in the 1937 Nazi exhibition Entartete Kunst (Degenerate Art), and in 1941 he was banned from painting by the Nazi regime who confiscated 1,052 works, more than from any other artist. From 1938 until the end of World War II, Nolde secretly created his “unpainted pictures,” mainly small-format watercolors. In the postwar period, he repainted some of them in oil and also worked on a series of self-portraits.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emil_Nolde

About the Music:
“Ani Yakulokola” from the album Beautiful Africa

Lyrics:
Who is the King of kings?
Jesus!
Who is the Lord of lords?
Jesus!
Who is the Prince of Peace?
Jesus!
He's the only one who saves my soul.

I have hope in the midst of my trouble.
Hey, He is the reason why I'm rejoicing.
I have hope in the midst of my suffering.
Hey, He is the reason why I'm rejoicing.

About the Composer:
Unknown

About the Performers:
Watoto Children's Choir is a group of African children choirs based at Watoto Church in Kampala, Uganda. Watoto means "children" in the Swahili language. Each choir is composed of about eighteen to twenty-two children who have lost one or both parents to the AIDS epidemic or to war. The choir has toured Asia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, and many other countries. The choir’s performances are a blend of native African rhythms, contemporary gospel music, and creative dance. They have released several albums, including Beautiful Africa. Their latest album Signs and Wonders features live music played throughout the concerts on their tours. They have performed with many artists including Chris Tomlin, Brad and Rebekah, and Israel Houghton. Their unique ministry also supports Watoto Child Care Ministries, social work services, medical clinics, schools, and pastoral and discipleship initiatives.
https://www.watoto.com/choir/

About the Poet:
Josephine Louise Miles (1911–1985) was an American poet and literary critic. Not only a skilled poet, Miles was also a brilliant scholar; who spent her career teaching at the University of California, Berkeley. She is remembered as the editor of anthologies and critical texts, as an author of books on poetic style and language, as well as an award-winning poet who produced over a dozen books of poems. Her reputation rests primarily upon her accomplishments as a poet. She wrote over a dozen books of poetry and several works of criticism. In the 1950s, she became the director of a project that created a concordance for the Poetical Works of John Dryden. She remained in Berkeley for the rest of her life, receiving many highly coveted fellowships and awards until her death. She was the first woman to receive tenure in the English Department at Berkeley and, at the time of her death, held the position of University Professor—one of the most prestigious honors in academic life. In 1974, she founded the internationally distributed Berkeley Poetry Review on the U.C. Berkeley campus.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josephine_Miles

About the Devotion Writer:
Dr. Deborah Taylor
Provost and Senior Vice President
Biola University

Deborah Taylor is the Provost and Senior Vice President at Biola and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from Biola University and a Ph.D. from Claremont Graduate University. Prior to coming to Biola, she was the principal of a K-8 private school. She has experienced the joy of being a faculty member, as well as serving in a variety of administrative roles since coming to Biola in 2001. She has a lifelong love for beautifully written and illustrated children’s literature, and currently finds great pleasure sharing her vast collection with her seven adorable grandchildren.