I love art but confess much of what goes under the name modern art -- well, I don't get much of it. But that is the thing about art, right? It is a matter of taste -- you like regular fries, somebody else likes curly fries, somebody else likes seasoned fries, and I like waffle fries. It is a matter of taste -- what you like, what appeals to you...
Or is there more to it all...
Not everything is equal. I like to visit a site dedicated to bad vestments worn by clergy all over the world. I catch myself wondering, "What was he thinking when he put that on?" It not just a matter of taste -- what I like or don't like -- it is a matter of sense. Somethings are just plain wrong. Somebody should have said something to that Pastor before he walked out in public wearing that, uh, that uh, I don't know what you would call it... "It looked like a rainbow threw up on it..." is the best I can say in public...
Sense. Sensibility. Common or uncommon. That is what we need. St. Paul put it this way, "Not everything possible is beneficial." We should not have to make rules about things. It ought to be understood. Some things are just not right. Period. Everyone needs to take a moment, take a deep breath, and think...
That rap version of the Sanctus... using a lime green FiestaWare cup as a chalice and pitcher as a flagon... trying a modern psychedelic version Joseph's coat of many colors as a vestment... wedding vows that pledge love, happiness, nuclear disarmament, and ecofriendly lifestyles... prayers that pray for justice and then plead mercy... creeds that were written for a brief moment in time (and should be banished there permanently... gimmicks like a blow up gadget man to get kids to VBS...
I am not pleading tastefulness here... I am not arguing for high culture... It is a matter of sense... If only common sense were not so uncommon, maybe some of their weird and foolish things done in the name of the moment or in the name of religion or in the name of Jesus, would not become the embarrassments that we wish would go away. Not everything possible is wise... or good... or beneficial... or worth while... Many times the better part of valour is discretion that says... I don't think so.
If all in the name of relevance, then be prepared to endure the mundane, the strange, the embarrassing, the odd, and the unforgettable that should be forgotten... or the Church will become America's Funniest Home Videos -- the place where we chronicle our stupidity, our foolishness, our embarrassments, and our chronic need to be center stage no matter how bad we look...
Pastor,
ReplyDeleteThanks. I didn't like the gadget man, either.
However, I might take up the modern art issue. Certainly pop culture vestments, liturgies and confessions should be relegated to the round file. Abstract (which is what I am assuming you intend by modern) Art is not 'what kind of fries do you like?' But more like do you prefer Moscato D'Oro or Cabernet Saugivnon?
No, actually it's more complicated than that. It's not a matter of taste, but of what you said; it's in the 'getting it.'
Some things are just more difficult to understand. It's not in whether we like or dislike a medium, but whether we understand it. I know this is difficult for many people, but so is nuclear science.
That nuclear science is not a matter of taste, but of learning. I'm not trying to chide anyone, but to encourage people to understand, or at least make the attempt.
Even if people don't understand the work, they can usually contact the artist (in this techno-age) and ask for an exlanation. If they're (artist) not living in the clouds, they'll likely talk to you.
All this is not to say there is not BAD Modern Art. There are plenty of inadequate artists, plenty of anti-Christian artists, plenty of wanna-be artists cranking out bad art. The key is not to dismiss all art and artists because they don't paint/draw/sculpt representationally (realism), but to endeavor to understand. Otherwise, we might not have Leonardo's work, or Michangelo's. Though they are representational, they were modern at one time. Visual art is in many ways comparable to the musical arts.
Read Gene Veith's STATE OF THE ARTS and one can get a flavor of what the artist is up against. If you'd like a shorter read, try ART FOR GOD'S SAKE by Philip Graham Ryken.
Sorry for the long comment, but I confess I'm sensitive about the Fine Arts.
My point was less in terms of art, which was a lead in, but in how not all is a matter of taste but a matter of our best for His glory... not what fits the moment... the only real art I was mentioning were some pretty bad vestments. I may take up art itself in another column... Veith's words are always instructive and right on...
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