On Art

My attention has been called to art, as of late.
First I watched a session in the Truth Project that dealt with art.
Then our high school intern at church did a blog post on art.
And suddenly I felt compelled to give my own thoughts on the matter of art.

I love art. In all it's glory and everything about it. There are so many different types of art: painting, drawing, photography, writing, music - it's all beautiful and it's all a gift from God.
Ever considered art as a gift from God?
I honestly feel like God gave me the talent of photography. Which honestly is a pretty gargantuan job He has handed me. God has created all this beauty. And some people are given a particular talent to show that beauty to others. With photography, I feel like I can show at least some of the beauty He has created in my little corner of the world.
Some people are given a gift of painting - being able to express feelings and show different places, objects, emotions, and people in their own special way. Not only are they showing the beauty He has created through whatever they are painting, they're showing the beauty He has created in their souls. No person paints or does any kind of art the same way. Each person has their own way of expressing art, and through the way they express it, they are showing a part of themselves.
Art is beauty. Showing beauty. Glorifying God for the beauty He has created.

As I watched the Truth Project, I really was drawn to the fact that Del Tackett was saying so many Christians view art as evil. As wrong. As "worldly."
But how can that be? If art is showing beauty, then how can it be evil or worldly? God created all of this beauty. Shouldn't we share it? How is sharing His beauty wrong or evil? Comprehending this question was a new view for me. Honestly, I've never viewed art as evil. Obviously, art can be twisted into something bad. Everything can be twisted. But inherently, is it worldly? No.
A "guest speaker" for the Truth Project, who is an artist, said it beautifully. He said that art, obviously, can be twisted into something evil.
But as Christians, it is our job to twist it back into something pure. Something good. Something beautiful.

God is the founder of all beauty. He is the founder of art. Christians have been given the job of retaining the purity of what He has created.

However, art has taken a twist for the worse in the past century.
And I don't mean to be a hater or anything, but I honestly think we have a problem when there is modern art and metal music in the world.
You may feel completely different about this kind of thing, but how can I say anything else? Modern art and metal music is not retaining the beauty God has created. When Paul says in Philippians to think about things that are pure, lovely, and excellent, he was talking about literally everything. Including art.
Think about it. As Christians, are we not supposed to be supporting and creating lovely things? Obviously. And when we support the modern art movement, we're supporting "art" that looks like a five year old's scribbles. Lovely? Not quite. It's formless. It has no shape or beauty. Some say, "Oh, modern art is just expressing the painters feelings." Yes, but isn't that what artists have been doing for the past thousands of years? Compare the following paintings:




Now. Compare. First picture. Did it express the artist's "emotions"? Perhaps. But can you tell what the heck it's supposed to "express"? Well. I can't. And if you can't even tell what it expresses, does it matter that the "artist" was supposedly trying to express anything?
Second picture. (favorite artist by the way) Does it express emotion? Obviously. To me, this painting captures some of the strongest emotions I've ever seen in a painting. But you can tell what it is. It's beautiful. It's creative. It has form and meaning.

However, after all of this talk of showing God's beauty, I want to make something clear.
Now you'll recall at the beginning of this post, I mentioned that my intern high school pastor did a blog post on art. And although this has already crossed my mind, I think he put it so beautifully, I had to quote him:

"I believe that this is when God will be most satisfied, when His people find joy, beauty, peace, and goodness in all the good things that He has created and when they produce art that is no longer a 'Christian' version of what the world likes, but art that is so true and glorious that the world cannot help but notice."
-Josh

Beautifully put? I think so.
For a while, a few years ago, I thought everything should be Christian. Christian this and Christian that. Music, art, just about anything that could be turned into something Christian.
I no longer think that way.
As I said earlier, God created beauty. So beauty doesn't have to be turned into something Christian. It already is. It's God-given. And honestly, don't you think we'd reach more people if our art wasn't "Christian" but was something that was, as Josh said, so absolutely glorious that the world would want to reach out and touch the beauty? Art is full of God. Sure, people can try to remove Him from beauty, but isn't it sort of hard to remove the Creator from the created thing? It's like trying to remove the fact that an artist painted a picture. It's like saying the artist has no relevance to the picture. But isn't the piece of art just a reflection of the artist? In other words, art doesn't have to be Christian to reach other people, or to be beautiful and completely relevant to God and glorifying Him.
If He gave you a gift of art, use it with all your might to glorify Him. It can reach the lost, lighten the soul of a Christian, and bring joy to a dark world.

Amazing?
Yes.