| IMAGE OF GOD
BEAUTY OUT OF ASHES AND SHAME
KENNEDY MEADOWS FIRE. Nothing big. Lots of empty mountain forests, lakes and a scenic river. Thousands of acres burned. The State did not think it significant enough to send firefighters. Wildlife, wild horses, historic sites - all gone. We live over the mountain on the desert side, a long ways off to the East.
Those twenty days it burned made the most beautiful of sunsets. Great, glorious beauty in the fall of the evening from all that death and destruction.
THE BLUE ANGEL. Despite the name of the film, even those who created this work of art hated the story, which ran counter to their current moral conventions. Filmed in both English and German in 1928, in Berlin, this was Germany's first talking picture. The film had a new actress, Marlene Dietrich to play Lola, the Blue Angel. The distinguished stage actor, Emil Jannings played the upright Professor Umraut. Erich Pommer was the reluctant Producer of this early film, and a very amoral American Josef Sternberg Directed. The film is based on a book written by Heinrich Mann in 1905.
The Blue Angel is the story of how a morally upright schoolteacher takes his teenaged students to task for having pictures of 'Lola', a cabaret performer in a poor working class district of Berlin. He then follows them to a performance and is smitten by the her charms. A night with Lola and the professor abandons respectability for the arms of his beloved. Because of this, the professor is fired from his school after 25 sterling years of service. He becomes Lola's pimp and then her assistant on stage. Finally he is reduced to the role of a clown, who has eggs smashed on his forehead by the irresistible Lola as part of her act.
The motion picture is a sad, haunting tale of moral suicide and degradation, but it is considered one of the most beautiful films ever made. It is a Work of Art.
THOSE WHO CREATE
What are we when we create something? Is everyone a creator? How do you define creativity?
Lately this has become a question of some importance as my friends and I labor to produce something worthwhile, or to make a difference in the world. Or as we just try to produce something that will bring us a living, or semblance thereof.
Passions are hot when we discuss this topic! Why wouldn't it be? This is our Life we are talking about here!
My friends are so much more talented than I consider myself to be. Perhaps my strengths lie in the crafting of a thing, rather than in creating something. I know this is true about myself, and they just put up with me. I am new at this business, and they are kind to allow me my mistakes.
They are the Creators. I am only the mundane "Builder of Things."
This of course is a matter of perspective, for they generally view their own creations in exactly the same way. Ask them. They say we are the creative ones. They are just the poor students of art and creativity.
I do not believe this is a false modesty, but rather a proper caution in naming something. It is far better for all of us if we allow others to name our work a Work of Art, rather than ourselves.
Some say that building or crafting something is the same thing as being purely creative. They refuse to distinguish between someone, for instance, who stands behind a counter building great sandwiches every day, and a person who works for years on a complex sculpture. To them we are all very creative artists.
They ask if the person who writes an exciting best seller is more creative than the surgeon who is up to his elbows in blood, striving to save a life.
Having decided that everyone is a creator, which of us is the better creator, given the situation and circumstances? Is a minister to the heartbroken a creator? How about your faithful trash collector?
You can only carry this so far. The poor child out on a desert dying of malnutrition is creating nothing but pain and suffering. I would however, certainly call creative the person who finds a way through great difficulty to feed that child. Those people are also Artists, aren't they?
A MATTER OF PERSPECTIVE
Has our little group of artists and writers reached a consensus? Have we been able to label what creativity is? Is it nailed down for the whole world to marvel at? Not yet. Not quite.
The one thing we seem to agree on is that all people are, in their essence, creators and artists. Whether they have created something yet, or not, is not the issue. People are creative, period.
Some of us, a small group, agree that we are also a creation, and therefore we are a Work of Art. That is, those of us who accept that there must be a Creator to this artfully created world we live in.
The other thing we all agree on is that Life is Art. My life. Your life. All life is Art.
WHAT IS ART?
This is a tough thing, defining creativity. It depends on your perspective, doesn't it? This defining of the creating is as tough as the nebulous definition of what art is.
Do you know what art is? Of course you do.
Can you describe it? "I know it when I see it." That is the standard answer we all give!
A beautiful woman walking on the beach. . .
A spectacular sunset. . .
Poetic moments in time when something remarkable happens, in all its pristine perfection. . .
The Olympic skater on an icy curve, whose blades dance perfectly the edge between winning and disaster. . .
Your first Macintosh. . .
Enough! You get the point. We all can describe something that art is contained within, which BTW is intensely personal, and likely different for you than it is for me.
Art may be someone's ancient canvas hanging somewhere, lovingly preserved for you all to bear witness to, that "THIS is Art."
. . . Or not. You and I have seen nauseating things called Art, haven't we?
Out here on the California coast for instance. We are surrounded by great natural beauty and amazing manmade edifices. We see them daily. They are part of the furniture of our civilization. Surrounded by such things as balmy beaches and lofty desert mountains, we remember it is good to be alive.
However, in this same place, we are also confronted and surrounded by, ahem, "bad taste." It is everywhere in our culture, from the horrid garment that person in front of us has on, to the billboards and advertisements everywhere, to the horrible writing and acting we see daily on television (where do they GET that stuff?!) Don't even mention the air quality, or the politics!
It is no different for music is it? What is music to you? You call THAT music? That's sick! Now THIS is music! What do you mean you can't stand it?
. . . therefore, before a fight ensues, you and I are forced to agree that Art is in the eye of the beholder. There may be no other definition possible.
Why? Because we are all Artists and Creators - and the judges and critics of art.
THE JUDGE OF CREATION
Creativity must be judged by the viewer.
I might think my work is a work of Art, and I am a seminal creator of my generation. (Best I keep my thoughts to myself here!) You must be the judge and jury of what I create.
You might refrain from accepting what I do as creative and even artistic. Likely if I am very different in what I create, I will be dead before anyone gets around to telling me how good it is.
We all know about van Gogh. He is the poster child for the Denied Creator. His whole life he sold one painting, a portrait, for a meager sum. Even he considered his work to be worthless, and his life a complete failure. Today his paintings are priceless. Van Gogh's "Irises" sold for more money at auction than any other work of art in history. I wonder what he thinks of THAT?
Fact is, what we think about our own creation does not matter.
(I never told you this truth. If you ask, I will deny it!) Your opinion of my work of Art is vital to me. Your approval validates my work. Of course I would much prefer that you approve me with a nice (and very large) payment, but then again, you could never afford to pay the price for my greatest work! (Who ARE you to judge me and my work, anyway?)
No matter. I know you are still judge and jury, and executioner (or pardoner) of all my toil.
Some creative people are very persistent. They do not seem to need an audience. They lie. They need validation too. They just hide the need of it behind their stubborn Independence.
No one likes their art. They are social outcasts. They are people with a vision. Another generation will validate them, but they might never know it.
You and I are probably not quite like this, even though some days we feel it to be so. No, we like our validation and applause NOW! Writers seem to be more needy in this than other creative people. How many people DID you send that first draft to, unsolicited?
MERCY TO WHOM MERCY IS GIVEN
"So, what do you think of my art, my creation? I worked a long time on it. This is my baby."
I don't want to appear too eager to know. I modestly hold back from asking, if I am wise.
You might be thinking, as you read my work or view my art, that the term "bad taste" is far too nice for what you are viewing.
"What do you know, huh? Wouldn't know Art if it got up and bit you!"
So I hide my work away. How many great artists and writers never allow their work to see the light of day, for fear of being rejected?
It has been said that those who do allow their work to be on display are mostly fools and idiots. People who are so naive that they believe everyone will think their work is beautiful.
Have you ever been to a gallery where someone like this had their ugly work hung? Has anyone you know thrust their precious Magnum Opus into your unwilling hands, hopeful of a kind review?
Some things should stay in the closet, right? Would it surprise you to know that this advice was given to Hemingway, concerning his first effort? Beethoven as a beginner was told to never pick up an instrument again. What advice would you have given the young Picasso? I could name countless examples of this, and so could you.
The point is, no matter how bad the art is at the time you see it, the artist may be quite good. You and them just don't see it yet. The same is true for the writer, the musician, and your favorite individual working at their career.
Mercy is due here. Kindness, rather than frankness. Yes we are judges of Art and Beauty. We are the supreme judges of all life, -but we are not its critics.
Sometimes, we are not the best judges of our fellow creators and artists, regardless of their craft or trade. Someone else might like it better, and you should probably tell them that, if you do not like it yourself.
THE OTHER THING ABOUT ART
Remember the opening stories? What we find in our hands and our lives, however terrible or unpleasant, we can use to create our Works of Art.
Somehow it is one of the most amazing things about Mankind as creators.
How is it possible that an artist can bring glory and beauty out of such horror, ugliness and filth? Read the bios on any Master. You will see what I mean. Somehow, in all the pain in this world, and in our own lives, we have this Spark of love and beauty that shines through in our work.
Call it the Human condition. We create in spite of it all.
TO SUM UP ALL THINGS
It is in our power therefore, within the human condition, to create not only Works of Art for the world to view, but to make our lives a Work of Art.
We are the sole creators of our very lives and of our relationships, as well as the Art we painstakingly and lovingly create out of Nothing, with our whole hearts and minds.
Why do we create? Why are we driven to create?
This is what we are created for.
To see the Creator, look at the creation.
The world is created. The supreme creation in the world is Mankind.
Here is the great premise. The one who created all things made us in his image.
This is why we create. We are driven to create, because the Creator of everything is driven to create. (If you do not wish to name him, then we will talk about Nature here.)
Look at this world. Experience it to see perfection in creation, for it is an ultimate Work of Art.
Focus here. Taste an orange or an apple. Marvelous! Man has never made anything like that. Not yet. Why is there such a variety of tastes and textures, colors and smells in this world?
Butterflies are another example. So many kinds in variety of shape and color! Why?
Flowers and trees are also breathtakingly abundant in their variety and purpose. Amazing!
Animals of every kind in profusion! Birds in bewildering variety and color!
Smells, textures, color, taste, sensations! The creation exhibits the handiwork of its Creator!
Dare I go on about Man and Woman, who are the ultimate creation?
Perfection in motion! In form! In thought! In ability! Utterly astounding is THIS creation!
No wonder a few of us allow ourselves to say we are made in the Image of God!
Someone here should interject the fact of mankind's dark side.
War! Crime! Hatred! Evil Inventions! Fear! Cruelty and Vice! (Don't forget bad taste!)
I do not believe we were created for that, for destruction is not creation.
STILL IN SCHOOL
If you and I had made the world, likely the food would be rather bland and colorless. (Ever eat fast food?)
Flowers and animals would have been few and very mundane in appearance and variety.
Perhaps they would have all died off by now, having been imperfectly designed.
Yeah. You and I, regardless of our wonderful creative talent, would have long ago been sent to the "Remedial School of Creation and Art," by the one who created the world we live in.
What is the Creator like? (There is a reason for asking this)
Having created us, I believe the Creator is kind, totally forgiving and utterly patient. Why would I say that? We are none of those things, or at least we have so little of that within us.
That is the point. We do not have much within us, except that we are made in the Image of the Creator, and thus have the potential of perfection in the lives we are now living. From time to time as we live our lives, we experience this perfection in wondrous moments of beauty.
Therefore, as created beings, and Works of Art, we should be kind and forgiving of our fellow creations. We should create Works of Art out of our lives and relationships, as well as out of our careers and imaginations. You know what I mean. Who creates the better Work of Art? Mother Theresa or Michelangelo? Both of their works are beautiful. How do you judge them?
I see the Creator not as ultimate Art Critic, but as a fellow creator and artist, who is partial and kind in judging our best work, knowing how hard and painful and wonderful it is to create! (Have you ever done this with the Art of a child who is showing you their work?)
Therefore, I find in the Creator a kind and gentle kindred Spirit, who is ready and willing to lend advice and support to those of us who strive to create works of beauty, regardless of the media we use.
WHERE ARE WE? WHO ARE WE?
All of us are in different places in this innate burning desire to create. In the act of creating, we give the whole of our hearts, our essence, and our Love to the world around us, for creativity is Passion! Some of us do this in incredible pain, bringing forth beauty and joy.
Everyone you know is a Creator. Therefore, be kind to your fellow Creators, for they are your brothers and sisters in Life -and some day one of them will be judging your Work of Art.
However much time we have here, none of us will leave this world as we have found it. This is as it should be. In all our striving and tears, our better nature desires with our whole being to somehow leave the world a better place than we found it.
Happy you are if what you create here is joyful and a lasting thing of beauty. The world will benefit from that. There is never too much Art.
Therefore, ignore the sordid and shallow Works of Art around you, and all the tepid and temporary forms of Fashion. Follow your heart. In doing so, you will create your best work. You and your Art are needed.
Remember we are all Creators. We create the world we live in. We create awesome Works of Art out of ourselves, out of our joy and out of our pain. We create because we must. For we are in the Image of God.
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