[this is not a statement, this is a messy thinking process.]
Looking at a blank paper, holding a pen in my hand, I can start writing out my heart. Today, when I sit in front of my desk, I know I could have done the same - "create" something out of nothing. However, I hesitate to put down one single word. I can fill up a paper with thousands of words, but the paper is actually empty. Why do I want to do that? Suddenly, I feel like I do not understand what I am doing. I cannot produce anything more meaningful, not until I know what I am producing, why I am producing, and what is the end product doing...
Then I ask myself what is art (if I dare to call my writings as art). The more I think about it, the more I feel like I am not just seeking for the meaning of art, but the meaning of life. I just cannot separate the two. How can one appreciate art when one does not appreciate life? How can one enjoy art when one does not enjoy what's existing on earth?
As Christians, we are not detached from the everyday life, we are not detached from the world - what exists now - good AND bad. We may perceive differently, but we are going through the same... Then, what's Christian art? In the thinking process, I always got confused by the word "Christian". Suddenly I wonder whether it is appropriate to dwell my investigation on "Christian art"? Maybe the so-called "Christian art" is simply the true art, the one and only one type of art that should be existing, the art that tells about our life, and that conveys the Truth - the Truth that is revealed to us by God in the Bible. I cannot detach the Truth from our life as I cannot detach the life from art.
As an artist producing an art piece, maybe it's not about defining a style, maybe it's not about being distinguishable or being different... After all, I believe it is not about the art piece as an object itself, because a beautiful piece without true content and context can barely move anyone's heart. An art piece must be alive in order to communicate with the audiences; the artist ought to give it a soul in order for the piece to be alive - I always tend to imagine this process similar to how "God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!" Therefore, how beautiful is the piece strongly depends on how beautiful is the soul which the artist is breathing out - that's obviously from the within of the artist. If I was to say to foster my skills to make a better piece of art, maybe, first of all, I should foster my heart. How can a piece be meaningful when the author is personally empty and shallow?
Moreover, for an artist, maybe it's not about "creating", maybe it's simply about listening, observing, and understanding. Maybe it's not about giving out things within us, the eagerness of forcing out the ideas can easily kill the piece, as well as the conversation between the art piece and the audience. Instead, maybe we should be humble, wait to receive, then let what we are able to receive gently melt into a piece and it will naturally sneak out from us to the audiences...
hmm... but then, why do we even need art? why does one even want to understand my piece? Why doesn't one simply enjoy the nature, the world and the Truth, but my works?
... ... ... keep searching... ... ...
Looking at a blank paper, holding a pen in my hand, I can start writing out my heart. Today, when I sit in front of my desk, I know I could have done the same - "create" something out of nothing. However, I hesitate to put down one single word. I can fill up a paper with thousands of words, but the paper is actually empty. Why do I want to do that? Suddenly, I feel like I do not understand what I am doing. I cannot produce anything more meaningful, not until I know what I am producing, why I am producing, and what is the end product doing...
Then I ask myself what is art (if I dare to call my writings as art). The more I think about it, the more I feel like I am not just seeking for the meaning of art, but the meaning of life. I just cannot separate the two. How can one appreciate art when one does not appreciate life? How can one enjoy art when one does not enjoy what's existing on earth?
As Christians, we are not detached from the everyday life, we are not detached from the world - what exists now - good AND bad. We may perceive differently, but we are going through the same... Then, what's Christian art? In the thinking process, I always got confused by the word "Christian". Suddenly I wonder whether it is appropriate to dwell my investigation on "Christian art"? Maybe the so-called "Christian art" is simply the true art, the one and only one type of art that should be existing, the art that tells about our life, and that conveys the Truth - the Truth that is revealed to us by God in the Bible. I cannot detach the Truth from our life as I cannot detach the life from art.
As an artist producing an art piece, maybe it's not about defining a style, maybe it's not about being distinguishable or being different... After all, I believe it is not about the art piece as an object itself, because a beautiful piece without true content and context can barely move anyone's heart. An art piece must be alive in order to communicate with the audiences; the artist ought to give it a soul in order for the piece to be alive - I always tend to imagine this process similar to how "God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life. The Man came alive—a living soul!" Therefore, how beautiful is the piece strongly depends on how beautiful is the soul which the artist is breathing out - that's obviously from the within of the artist. If I was to say to foster my skills to make a better piece of art, maybe, first of all, I should foster my heart. How can a piece be meaningful when the author is personally empty and shallow?
Moreover, for an artist, maybe it's not about "creating", maybe it's simply about listening, observing, and understanding. Maybe it's not about giving out things within us, the eagerness of forcing out the ideas can easily kill the piece, as well as the conversation between the art piece and the audience. Instead, maybe we should be humble, wait to receive, then let what we are able to receive gently melt into a piece and it will naturally sneak out from us to the audiences...
hmm... but then, why do we even need art? why does one even want to understand my piece? Why doesn't one simply enjoy the nature, the world and the Truth, but my works?
... ... ... keep searching... ... ...
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