Art and All That, Part VI

Here in Central Texas we are having a beautiful fall, one that was sneaking silently and stealthily, like a cat slinking through the brush at the edge of the yard: a few whiffs of fall-ish air late at night or early in the morning were the only hints that autumn was stalking.  One day summer seemed still in full force, while fall settled down behind a screen of shrubbery, tail twitching, the victim unaware of its impending demise, making us all think summer would continue forever.  And then, as cats will do…

POUNCE!

The next morning the temperature had dropped, the heat-hazy air cleared, the light suddenly came from a different direction, the leaves on the trees which had been a deep late-summer green the day before had an orange tint to them, and the fragrance of fall accosted our summer-stale nostrils into fresh, enervated fascination.  Summer expired quickly and painlessly, as hoodies made their long-awaited but hurried exit from mothball-scented closets.

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Thanks for reading that.  I’ve been just itching to write it down ever since it occurred to me.  A few of you may have encountered bits of it in things I’ve written here or there, but this is the full version.  So…how’d I do? (No, really.  Feel free to teach me better writing:  in a constructive and gentle manner, of course.)

Now to turn to the subject of True Art as quickly as our summer turned to fall.  It was of great encouragement to me to read an article by Rachel Starr Thomson over on the Speculative Faith blog. Here’s someone who gets “True Art”, and has the concept down well enough to apply it to her vocation of writing.

As a reminder, here is the working definition of True Art being employed in this series of posts:

True Art magnifies the greatness of God in Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit illustrating God’s Word through the artistic medium thereby motivating the gathered Church to proclaim the Gospel, to cherish God’s presence, and to live for God’s glory.

Rachel writes:

As a writer, I grapple with the idea of loving my readers. I don’t write merely for myself. I don’t even write for God alone. He has placed me here, in this world, so I write for readers–to love them in obedience to God.

That paragraph packs quite a punch for me, and may therefore qualify as True Art in its own right:  it makes me wonder if I am loving those who partake of my art, or if my focus is too narrow—is my art only there to gratify myself, or even only for God alone, in disobedience to His command that we love? Since this motivates me to proclaim the Gospel, cherish God’s presence, and live for God’s glory, it meets the criteria of True Art in and of itself.

Rachel continues:

Excellence has to be a part of that. Love and excellence go hand in hand. Where we don’t love, we can’t be bothered. When we care passionately, on the other hand, our best hardly seems good enough. If we love our readers, we’ll work at the story, at the sentences, at the themes. If we love our readers, we’ll revise. If we love our readers, we’ll apply ourselves with dogged commitment.

How I wish that a very long list of people (a list that would include me) could acquire this concept.  My music students.  Any number of unskilled, untrained, unprepared church members who claim their hearts are right and therefore they have the right to sing or play a solo before the congregation.  Writers of poorly written “Christian” poetry.  Makers of B (or even C!) “Christian” movies.  Posters on blogs who do not think that spelling matters...

God have mercy on us all.  Give us real love for You, Lord, that pours out in a passion that makes our best seem hardly good enough.

Then she comments:

We write with love, too, when we let our imaginations go and burst forth and make places and characters that inspire, that enervate. Lord of the Rings is a work of imagination, through and through, but it’s imparted real courage to me. Thank you, Master Tolkien, for your love.

Yes, thank you, Master Tolkein.  And Master Lewis.  And Paul the Apostle.  And Ludwig von Beethoven.  And Michelangelo. And Rachel Starr Thompson.

Thinky Things

You can read Rachel’s entire article here.

Are there places in your life where your lack of love is obvious?  Where your art isn’t True Art?  Who are some famous artists you know have loved you because they cared passionately about excellence?  How about unsung artists who showed love to you through their excellent art?  Why not give them a plug in the comment section ?

HOLD FAST (to what is good and excellent!)…