"Dear Artists, You Are the Custodians of Beauty"
Thin White Duke
http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1341070?eng=y
Excerpt:
Unfortunately, the present time is marked, not only by negative
elements in the social and economic sphere, but also by a weakening of
hope, by a certain lack of confidence in human relationships, which
gives rise to increasing signs of resignation, aggression and despair.
The world in which we live runs the risk of being altered beyond
recognition because of unwise human actions which, instead of
cultivating its beauty, unscrupulously exploit its resources for the
advantage of a few and not infrequently disfigure the marvels of
nature. What is capable of restoring enthusiasm and confidence, what
can encourage the human spirit to rediscover its path, to raise its
eyes to the horizon, to dream of a life worthy of its vocation – if
not beauty? Dear friends, as artists you know well that the experience
of beauty, beauty that is authentic, not merely transient or
artificial, is by no means a supplementary or secondary factor in our
search for meaning and happiness; the experience of beauty does not
remove us from reality, on the contrary, it leads to a direct
encounter with the daily reality of our lives, liberating it from
darkness, transfiguring it, making it radiant and beautiful.
Indeed, an essential function of genuine beauty, as emphasized by
Plato, is that it gives man a healthy "shock", it draws him out of
himself, wrenches him away from resignation and from being content
with the humdrum – it even makes him suffer, piercing him like a dart,
but in so doing it "reawakens" him, opening afresh the eyes of his
heart and mind, giving him wings, carrying him aloft. Dostoevsky’s
words that I am about to quote are bold and paradoxical, but they
invite reflection. He says this: "Man can live without science, he can
live without bread, but without beauty he could no longer live,
because there would no longer be anything to do to the world. The
whole secret is here, the whole of history is here." The painter
Georges Braque echoes this sentiment: "Art is meant to disturb,
science reassures." Beauty pulls us up short, but in so doing it
reminds us of our final destiny, it sets us back on our path, fills us
with new hope, gives us the courage to live to the full the unique
gift of life. The quest for beauty that I am describing here is
clearly not about escaping into the irrational or into mere
aestheticism.
Too often, though, the beauty that is thrust upon us is illusory and
deceitful, superficial and blinding, leaving the onlooker dazed;
instead of bringing him out of himself and opening him up to horizons
of true freedom as it draws him aloft, it imprisons him within himself
and further enslaves him, depriving him of hope and joy. It is a
seductive but hypocritical beauty that rekindles desire, the will to
power, to possess, and to dominate others, it is a beauty which soon
turns into its opposite, taking on the guise of indecency,
transgression or gratuitous provocation. Authentic beauty, however,
unlocks the yearning of the human heart, the profound desire to know,
to love, to go towards the Other, to reach for the Beyond. If we
acknowledge that beauty touches us intimately, that it wounds us, that
it opens our eyes, then we rediscover the joy of seeing, of being able
to grasp the profound meaning of our existence, the Mystery of which
we are part; from this Mystery we can draw fullness, happiness, the
passion to engage with it every day. In this regard, Pope John Paul
II, in his Letter to Artists, quotes the following verse from a Polish
poet, Cyprian Norwid: "Beauty is to enthuse us for work, and work is
to raise us up" (no. 3). And later he adds: "In so far as it seeks the
beautiful, fruit of an imagination which rises above the everyday, art
is by its nature a kind of appeal to the mystery. Even when they
explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects
of evil, the artist gives voice in a way to the universal desire for
redemption" (no. 10). And in conclusion he states: "Beauty is a key to
the mystery and a call to transcendence" (no. 16).
Charlie
do you have no thoughts of your own? No, i didn't think so. You are
truelly a son of oprah. she does your thinking.
Charlie
"Thin White Duke" <jackso...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:aba12e76-ff5e-4511...@v30g2000yqm.googlegroups.com...
Tashi
> You are so into words, words, words....blah blah blah blah blah....
> do you have no thoughts of your own? No, i didn't think so. You are
> truelly a son of oprah. she does your thinking.
>
> Charlie
>
Have you ever engaged him on a subject? He proves to be quite
inapt, at simple concepts.