from the site : Neue _Why Art Should Matter to Christians_ (http://neuemagazine.com/blog/6-main-slideshow/1320-why-art-should-matter-to-christians) Melissa Kircher | 28 September 2011
Imagine a world without poetry, dance, song, comedy, film, architecture, painting, stories, symphonies, theater or sculpture. Such a world would be bland. Art brings vibrance and beauty to our lives. Creativity is both a fully human and fully divine experience. It is an acknowledgement that something eternal and full of truth lies behind the temporal world in which we live. It focuses our eyes on the pain around us, the injustice in front of us, the joy abounding within us, and the pull we feel towards meaning and significance. Music moves us. Poetry connects us. Paintings shout at us. Dance energizes us. Art draws us back into the fold of humanity when we wander out full of pain, discouragement, and bitterness. It whispers, “You are not alone.” In today’s society though, real art is slowly becoming less and less present. Our generation experiences art as a constant stream of marketing. Creativity is now harnessed to push product. When we only experience art in advertisements, web-sites, brands and logos, we lose the invaluable ways that it helps us understand who we are and what life is all about. In his book Why We Hate Us, Dick Meyers explains that, “too much money is a t stake to waste it on opera, artsy mini series, and literary novels. In entertainment, capital flows not just to top performers but to the top genres or styles, reducing the money and airtime available to other forms of entertainment. The popular forms take a disproportionate share of available resources, so demand for high culture wanes.” Modern culture has forgotten that art is worthy without first having to prove it’s worth. In a system that values prestige and monetary success as the ultimate goal, the artist is slowly beginning to fade. To survive, artists must strive for success; even though that is not why they originally create. They create because they feel, because there is a message to share or an idea to express. Soon though, creativity demands more materials, time, space, and funding; it becomes costly. If an artist is lucky enough to succeed, he or she usually struggles deeply with the fact that success dictates their art becoming a fad that requires mass approval. This fad only ever demands newer and better material which leaves the artist exhausted from trying to produce, produce, produce. Humanity is losing a vital connection to God and to our souls when the arts begin to become unworthy in society. In order to prevent this from happening, there needs to be action. We are all responsible to change things. So what can you do? Explore Artistic Pursuits in Your Daily Life We all enjoy creative expression in some shape or form. Find out what this means to you and carve out time to do it. Creativity can mean refinishing furniture, sculpting a bush, trying a new recipe, even working passionately at science or math. Support art within your community by buying tickets to the ballet or symphony, checking out a local art show, entering a writing contest, painting a mural, starting a band, singing at church, drawing on the sidewalk, organizing community dance lessons, or simply donating funds to an artist you know or creative organization you love. And buy original artwork! Most artists now offer smaller pieces at really reasonable prices. Bring Creativity to Your Workplace Art can also be important in the business world. Creativity and passion are becoming more and more necessary to companies who desire imaginative and innovative ways of doing business. Seth Godin, the author of Purple Cow: Transforming Your Business By Being Remarkable says, “I call it the [new] art system. People doing work that matters, feeling human about it, feeling connected, and making an impact. Companies now want their employees to step up and do something interesting.” Perhaps it’s time for you to start thinking outside the box and getting in touch with your creative side at work. It may help you stand apart in your current job or gather the courage to go after your dream position. Help Your Church Engage Artists The Christian church needs to realize they are losing artists as well. 1 Corinthians: 25-26 presents a model for churches where all different types of people are integrated into the community, “The way God designed our bodies is a model for understanding our lives together as a church: every part dependent on every other part, the parts we mention and the parts we don't, the parts we see and the parts we don't. If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing. If one part flourishes, every other part enters into the exuberance.” (The Message) So how can churches re-incorporate artists when many of them feel that in order to have their art welcomed in church, it needs to look all cute and flannel-graphy? Christian churches seem to censor so much, but forget that historical Christian art displayed naked people, bloody scenes, and crosses. Congregations could be much more welcoming by actually allowing creative artwork to be displayed. Congregations could invite artist participation by inviting musicians to write songs that tie in with sermons or painters/designers to create original power point slides for a service. They could sponsor a poetry jam, battle of the bands, writing contests, host a community art show, or start an artist’s small group. Church members could donate a studio, gallery space, photography equipment, recording time, or publishing contacts. Another great way to support artists would be to create a church-sponsored artist’s scholarship. This could be a competitive scholarship where artists would submit a portfolio of work and a write-up of goals for the coming year, to win a monthly or yearly grant. Creating a church environment where the arts are more appreciated and funded is part of honoring the God-given gift of creativity that lives inside us all. There are tons of ways for churches and artists to work together towards spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. In a world that encourages us to become more materialistic and anesthetized to our souls, we desperately need the re-emergence of art. Let’s all do our part to make this happen. -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
