“When the two people who thus discover that they are on the same secret road are of different sexes, the friendship which arises between them will very easily pass – may pass in the first half hour – into erotic love. Indeed, unless they are physically repulsive to each other or unless one or both already loves elsewhere, it is almost certain to do so sooner or later. And conversely, erotic love may lead to Friendship between the lovers. But this, so far from obliterating the distinction between the two loves, puts it in a clearer light. If one who was first, in the deep and full sense, your Friend, is then gradually or suddenly revealed as also your lover you will certainly not want to share the Beloved’s erotic love with any third. But you will have no jealousy at all about sharing the Friendship. Nothing so enriches an erotic love as the discovery that the Beloved can deeply, truly and spontaneously enter into Friendship with the Friends you already had; to feel that not only are we two united by erotic love but we three or four or five are all travelers on the same quest, have all a common vision.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves
My comment on this quote from Lewis' book 'The Four Loves" is that I believe it is an illustration of the intensities of a relationship, between just two people. It is outlining some possibilities and scenarios but How I feel it relates to Art is my topic: Art and it's relationship to the Artist, the Creator, is this type of intensity. Total commitment and dedication mixed with unbridled direction (ie: goal) is essential for one to grow. It takes many many years to grow the enormous intellectual, spiritual, and physical attributes to accomplish 'real art', although I must qualify that statement with this one: Yes, children can perform an event of 'real art' due to expression, feeling, emotion, etc, all those elements PURELY driven into medium whether it is graphic or music, can be , I believe classified into 'real art'. The first reference of definition I offer is one based on 'each piece' an Artist does is 'real art'. It certainly is not a 'Shark in a Tank of Formaldehyde"! That at best is a 'statement'. I call this FAD art, people caught up in a feeding frenzy without the slightest inclination of what they are 'eating'. Ha, I have to laugh at myself for my boldness to suggest that millionaires, multimillionaires, billionaires are idiots, generally speaking, when it comes to Art. They are FAD followers, and hey, sometimes those FADs keep or grow in monetary value, true. The question is are they 'feeding' you universal truths and aiding you in your personal growth? What are other questions that Art should answer? I would be very pleased to know that someone read this item and has the ability and insight to respond.
All My Friends, Love and Best Wishes to You, Brad
I agree with your statements about the relationship between the artist and his/her art, and the intensity, and also the difference between real art and fad. Your analogy is good, and using CS Lewis as a persuasive argument is very canny. Fad art for me is all about the price, and real art is about the art, the creation, and the artist brings that creation from a point in his spirit through his fingers onto the medium of his choice. I do not and never will think that popping a shark into a tank of formaldehyde is anything more than a spontaneous "oh yeah let me try this". The bottom line for me is that true art touches me in the same spot I create from, and I feel the pull. A shark in a tank just makes me feel sorry for the creature.
ReplyDeleteI also feel that many people, and I mean people who want to create but fear the unknown, have untapped creativity that can come alive with a little guidance, and be a way to learn, have fun, and understand creativity a bit better. Are they great artists? No. Neither am I. But it lets them experience something in life that can ultimately let them learn a bit more about themselves, and personal growth is always a good thing in my opinion.
(I have always loved CS Lewis, and my children grew up reading and loving his Narnia books.) Very interesting blog post. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
All artists that succeed in my opinion work with intensity. All successful artists have a 'real purpose' in life which I think is essential to personal growth. I agree with what you have said in your post that 'real art' is one that has been expressed with emotion. I like to quote Aristotle 'The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance'. Also the artist Mark Carder said 'If you do not paint what you love, you will just die'. I totally agree with that and if you set goals and are passionate about your subject then 'FAD' art will not enter into your own world because it has been created with 'feeling'. I feel a lot of people create this FAD art to be different and sometimes it may work but how can that be rewarding if it has no emotional link? Whether these people are feeding us universal truths or not I believe personal growth is down to each individual and for me personally, I apply Winston Churchill's philosophy which is 'Never, never, never give up'. No matter how many times you fail, if you work hard and keep true to what you believe then you will succeed.
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