Thoughts on Beauty & Art

Pictures taken at the Montreal Gallery of Fine Arts

Earlier this year I went to visit Montreal, Quebec. One day, while walking the cobblestone streets, I passed by a large, grotesque statue of a naked man - if it could be called a man. He had strange-looking, broken wings. There was a rectangular hole that went right through his torso, and out of this hole came what looked like tangled vines and a pair of grasping hands. The statue had no distinguishable face - it was simply a mass of human hands.

Looking at this statue revolted me, and made me think about how much art has changed in the past century - particularly in the past few decades. It's almost as if the entire purpose of art has flipped around. It's purpose used to be for pursuit of beauty, which reflected the truth and goodness of God and his created world. Especially in earlier centuries, it was often used to depict stories centering around the Christian faith - whether they were depictions of stories from Scripture, of saints, or of otherworldly places such as Heaven. Of course, there were also more disturbing paintings and sculptures made which depicted subjects such as visions of Hell or demonic images. The purpose of these grotesque subjects, however, was to alert people to the reality of evil which is, ultimately, a good thing. Much of the uglier art of today certainly does not have this purpose - rather, it seems to be for the enjoyment of, and the attraction to, the darker side of life.

While in Montreal, I also went to visit the city's fine arts museum. It held many wonderful galleries of art. One of my favorite exhibits was the Renaissance exhibit where a lot of Italian work was on display, as well as the Golden Age exhibits showing work from The Romantic, Baroque and Classical periods. We then came to the gallery of contemporary art. Almost immediately upon entering the room, my head started hurting. The wall in front of me was filled with massive canvasses of so much color my eyes watered from looking at it. One canvas, stretching almost the entire length of the floor to the ceiling, was entirely neon orange, with a black dot directly in the center. Another work was simply even, bold stripes of color in no recognizable pattern. In the middle of the room sat strangely-shaped furniture, sporting the same bold colors of the surrounding paintings. It was almost as if I was in the tackiest room of IKEA, except worse.

What has happened? What has art become? In our age, new ideas are encouraged - we are prodded to think outside of the boxes, to push past artistic boundaries. And this can be a good thing. But the problem is that we have lost our ideals. We have lost our concepts of beauty and truth. Today, the purpose to create art has changed. Today, its seems as though we create art for the sole purpose of being disturbing, to do everything in our power to not make something beautiful - but in a way that hides this fact by writing the word "creativity” in front of it.

I do not mean to condemn all modern art. In fact, there is some modern art that I like very much. But for the most part, our post-Christian culture no longer believes that the depiction and pursuit of truth, beauty and goodness should be vital to our artistic expressions, as was believed in former times. So the question is, can Christian artists today again take up the challenge to serve God by creating works that are truly beautiful? A great Catholic contemporary artist, Michael O'Brien, is a shining example of this kind of artist. From a letter O'Brien addressed to his fellow artists came the following prophetic words, words I wish all modern artists would heed: “Beware the current schools of criticism and norms in fiction and the other arts. Please don’t bow to them, don’t succumb to their rationale, which would bend and reshape your beautiful gift according to their subjective criteria and their blurred motives. Don’t become a victim of this colossal peer pressure. Don’t become a tool in the hands of the state, or the academy, or an art-guru, or any other dimension of the social revolution that is presently afflicting Western civilization.”

On Vulnerability

I was sitting amidst the crowd, and yet still apart. For a long while I stayed there, silently watching the group of people surrounding me, people deep in conversation and bonding through it. Though all coming from diverse backgrounds, they all had one main commonality in the faith they shared. Connections were being made, lives were blending, hearts were mending. These people, I realized, are a truly beautiful community. How wonderful it was for us all to be able to come together in unity. And what a sight for me to watch: the laughs, the tears, the stories, the hearts being poured out. It was the perfect example of the trust we put in each other when sharing the deeper bits of ourselves.

To find people we can connect with, to share our inner longings, and to be passionately zealous about our faith with others is an beautiful gift, and something so important to hold on to. It's incredible, really, to watch people bond and relate with one another.

It's something I've always had trouble with. To share myself, to let others peek into the dusty corners of my soul and mind – corners I allow few to touch but God and myself. Even then, I can still be shy. But this shyness – which has it's place, for I believe everyone should be guarded to a certain extent – can be my downfall. I have been coming to the realization lately that it's okay to let my guard down once in a while. I can turn back those dusty corners, and I can let the sunlight in.

Bit by bit, I'm learning. I'm learning that it's okay to be vulnerable. Because that's what it means to be human. It's how we live, heal, and create friendships with one other: by sharing the deeper, more vulnerable, and most beautiful parts of our souls.

Frames of summer // random thoughts

I.  I changed a few things up here, as I'm sure you've noticed. Some more changes in design will be coming, when I have some time to work on them... I'm also contemplating a new blog title, and any ideas are greatly appreciated! (Yes, I know I just did this earlier in the year but I'm already getting tired of my current name).

II.  I am feeling so overjoyed about the canonization of Mother Teresa. She was one incredible, beautiful soul and will forever be one of my greatest role models. Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

III.  Also, just a moment of recognition for Scott Hahn: I've been reading a couple of his books this summer. His words have been incredibly helpful for me and have made me want to continue learning as much as I possibly can about my faith. There is so much to be discovered, so much to be read, and I am absolutely thrilled by this. The more I learn, the more I love...

IV.  One more thing: an excerpt from the Velveteen Rabbit, a favourite childhood book of mine. I recently rediscovered it, and this is just too wonderful a quote not to share:

“Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.' 

'Does it hurt?' asked the Rabbit.  

'Sometimes,' said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. 'When you are Real you don't mind being hurt.' 

'Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,' he asked, 'or bit by bit?'  

'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse. 'You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”