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The Church of Art - Part III
On the importance of art — Is it up to the artists to save us? What went wrong?
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The Church of Art - Part III
It is up to the artists.
This is Part III of a three part series titled, The Church of Art. This part looks at why I think perhaps only artists can turn humanity in the right direction. It will make more sense if you read the entire essay. If you wish to comment on this essay, I only ask that you read it in its entirety first. The entire essay is posted on my personal Substack, Clinsights, with comments open, at the following link:
The Church of Art
“While Western people have traditionally turned to God on those occasions [of darkness and hopelessness], the Chinese people have no such remedy for their plight. In the absence of an ultimate problem-solver, the Chinese have learned to turn their moments of darkness into opportunities for soul-making; they transform their existential angst into poetry and song.” — The Zen Teachings of Jesus, Kenneth S. Long
Sound familiar? It should. It’s what artists do. In a world where God has famously been declared dead (by Nietzsche), it is the artists, and the Art that they create that is able to sneak spirituality in “through the back door.” What the true artists already know is what religion attempts to get one to wake up into.
We’ve, collectively, lost the secret that the artists know - how to internally transform the daily ordinary into the wondrous and poetic extraordinary. But the good news is that it’s possible to find it again.
When I talk with people about what I do — that it involves art — almost invariably, they share that they do some sort of art or creative act as a hobby. Or that they want to pursue some creative undertaking. Most people seem to have this innate creative drive, though it doesn’t always manifest as a drive to make art, per se.
And, if any “good” came out of the pandemic, perhaps it is that so many people took the time to re-evaluate their lives. They became introspective and wondered if that latent creativity could be brought to the forefront. In other words, many people started the journey to find their true self.
Why does this give me hope? Because true societal salvation must start with individual salvation.
As long as we remain fragmented, divided in our internal nature, so too will external civilization reflect that internal state, and, in such a state, people of all societies and ultimately humanity itself will remain as fragmented and divided as individuals are internally. If you hate or fear part of yourself, you will hate part of humanity.
But, with more people finally awakening to their powers of creation, those internal states may be starting to change, because the act of creation leads one to The Mystery. And The Mystery awakens the soul to deep truth. The Mystery activates the “right brain.”
We saw an explosion, during after after the pandemic, in the online “creator economy.” I hate that the term “creator” has been hijacked to refer to people who mostly sell courses (a huge percentage of which are about “making money online”), because that’s not what a true creator does.
Making and selling courses is a left-brained activity. It cuts up; It divides “creation” into steps (Step 1 - do this. Step 2 - do that. Step 3 - make money!), and true creators work in a holistic right-brained way. True creators trust The Muse. True creators enter The Mystery. True creators can’t reduce what they do down to a course or an ebook.
True creators are Artists.
And, if you’re reading this, the term “true creator” probably means you.
So, yes there is hope.
The process has already started, we just need to awaken more artists, because each person who awakens to their true self and unlocks their potential affects others around them. And that can start a wave of awakening that ripples through humanity.
In other words, the more true artists we awaken, the more hope there is for humanity.
For only one who has awoken the artistic poetry of the heart can become the true artist — the one who makes his life a work of art. The true artists bravely tread a path of inspiration that others can, and often do, follow. The practice of art brings beauty, truth, humor, and joy into life — the artist’s life, and the life of those around her — and these are the desperately needed qualities that are sorely missing from our modern institutions.
Kenneth S. Leong wrote in 1995, almost 30 years ago, “This notion of substituting poetry for religion is not so far-fetched. America, in the aftermath of the decline of its traditional religions, may have come to the same crossroad.”
The situation is far worse today than it was in 1995. Perhaps it is time to consider that the “Church of Art” provides a reasonable path forward.
The “Church of Art,” to my knowledge, has never starved millions of people, never declared holy war, and never burned heretics at the stake. It requires no tithes, no taxes, and no dues.
It doesn’t burden you with regulations and bureaucrats. You need to elect no leaders. You don’t have to apply for membership. Regular devotees of art are welcome at any time to try their hand at becoming a master, a “priest,” or “miracle worker” by creating their own works. It is open to all. It is enjoyed universally by all humans. It transcends languages and cultures. It transcends all religions. Christians, muslims, hindus, taoists, buddhists, agnostics, atheists and people of all other religions are welcome to join the Church of Art, and they are welcome to retain and practice all of their existing beliefs. No ritual of “conversion” is forced upon you by Art.
The Church of Art acts as inspired seasoning that works with you, where you are today, to add joyful color and flavor to your life. It accepts and celebrates both our unity and our differences.
And so, after we dismiss the organized institutions that have , so far, failed to create harmony, if you think about it, in modern culture, the last acceptable bastion of right-brain dominance, of the symbolic over the diabolic, of the spiritual, of sharing The Mystery, and of exploring the Truth that can possibly unite us, is Art.
True Art is a labor of love, and, in pursing it, we discover that true love extends to our fellow man. So, perhaps Art, and perhaps only Art, and the artists that make it, can spark enough of our souls to jumpstart a “ripple of harmony.”
Perhaps only Art can ignite those dormant right-hemispheres, and help to make the holistic and the spiritual acceptable again.
So, perhaps if the artists and creators can inspire enough of us wake up to our true self, to our inner creative, then we can “infiltrate” our other institutions and begin to see through their vitriol, to recognize their manipulation, to awaken others into true humanity, and to spread the idea of loving one’s neighbor even if we don’t always agree with him.
In short, it appears that it is up to the artists to save us.
No pressure.
“A single smile of Beauty can bring about greater transformations of character than all the frowns of Righteousness.” — Sangharakshita
“The creation awaits the revelation of the children of God also through art and in art. This is your task. Humanity in every age, and even today, looks to works of art to shed light upon its path and its destiny.” - Pope John Paul II, 1999 Letter to Artists
If you’d like to read the entire essay and/or comment on it, it’s all available on my personal Substack at the following link. As I asked at the top, if you choose to comment, please read the entire essay first:
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