Human value comes from God alone. (Gen. 1:27)

Today, contemporary artists often want to give honor and transcendent value to persons of color, while promoting an ideology which denies transcendent value. It is a paradox; people speak of spiritual values, while holding on to belief systems which cannot justify them. The Dutch philosopher, Herman Dooyeweerd called it the false ground motive of ‘nature v. freedom” and linked it to atheistic humanism.

The “nature v. freedom” motive promotes a materialistic, atheistic universe on one hand, while on the other, it elevates ideals such as dignity, honor, and freedom. The problem is that in an atheistic universe, there is no solid grounding for these ideas. Concepts like dignity and freedom wind up being subjective and defined in various ways which are often contradictory.

The bronze statue “Grounded in the Stars” was created by British artist, Thomas Price, and was recently installed in Times Square (May 2025). Who is the woman? Whoever you want her to be. Price wants to challenge the question of “who should be rendered immortal.” But what is “immortal” in a materialistic universe? Nothing. The stars cannot ground human value. Stars burn out; stars die. Only something eternal can give human beings transcendent value beyond their mortal shells, and that something is someone–God. The stars do not ground human value, they point us to our Creator: “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.” Ps. 19:1

A person with dark skin, or any human being for that matter, has inherent value for one reason and one reason alone: They are created in the image of God.

Unfortunately, God is not part of this art project. It is about identity and representation; however, if the statue can be put up, it can be taken down. Then what? Do persons of color lose value if the statue is removed? Does a human being become less valuable when he/she is not “represented”? We can commend Price for wanting to uphold human value publicly and create artwork that honors human beings, but without a worldview to ground those values, it becomes just another piece of “DEI” art that says, “Honor this particular group of people because I say so.”

Not very convincing.

Until people understand human value cannot be grounded in art, or in any aspect of human life itself, human value will continue to be in danger. The only lasting foundation for human value is in the createdness of humanity affirmed by the Bible. With this in mind, Price’s statue would be better titled “Un-Grounded In The Stars.”

Postscript: Information on Thomas Price’s religious beliefs is scarce. In this article, I am working from the worldview he presents in his 2023 interview (At Home: Artists in Conversation, with Martina Droth, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Yale Center for British Art). In the interview, he gounds human value in mere existence, @46:14, “…we are valuable as we are. And maybe that sounds kind of too much hippie-ish or too idealist but I truly believe it, and it’s something I’ve had to sort of foster within myself in order to kind of survive as a human being.”