In a novel I recently read (“Foe” by Iain Reid, Simon & Schuster, 2018) a major philosophical question for the main characters is whether he and she “wanted to be a better person.”
This brought to mind the function of art: Could art support one becoming “a better person”? What is art supposed to offer? Beauty? Grace? More? Or something else?
People considered dedicated art collectors, may buy art that offers potential—a sound investment on the future. Other collectors simply bask in the reflected glory of distinguished works. Other buyers might be seeking a pretty picture to enliven their day-to-day or something to match the new furniture or paint scheme. A few might simply want to cover a blemish on the wall. Quite a few seek the status associated with displaying fine art. For yet others a picture may illustrate a valuable memory.
While there are undoubtedly more factors in the impulse to share one’s life with art, I’m proposing a key function of art is to lift one’s spiritual development—support the soul. This applies to all buyers, no matter the intent or focus.
Spiritual development—feeding the soul—requires support; just as physical, emotional and intellectual development cannot exist in a vacuum or be ignored. Some equate spirituality with religious practice or church attendance. I don’t believe it’s enough to attend church and maybe “try to be a better person.” I still remember a story years back, somewhere in the 1980s, about a group of Roman Catholic nuns leaving the church because it wasn’t meeting their spiritual needs.
Art supports spiritual development just by being present: offering a moment of rest, an escape from the everyday, a broadening of perspective. Additionally, engagement may offer:
• a focus for meditation;
• generate a full-body response, as nothing else can;
• suggest a means to enter into a pure and abstract contemplative state through the elements of color, form, texture and composition.
• This freedom of engagement allows detachment from insistent wants and needs or verbal limits.
The idea that classical art supports spiritual development might be easier to grasp when including the performing arts and literature. Comments welcome.
This brought to mind the function of art: Could art support one becoming “a better person”? What is art supposed to offer? Beauty? Grace? More? Or something else?
People considered dedicated art collectors, may buy art that offers potential—a sound investment on the future. Other collectors simply bask in the reflected glory of distinguished works. Other buyers might be seeking a pretty picture to enliven their day-to-day or something to match the new furniture or paint scheme. A few might simply want to cover a blemish on the wall. Quite a few seek the status associated with displaying fine art. For yet others a picture may illustrate a valuable memory.
While there are undoubtedly more factors in the impulse to share one’s life with art, I’m proposing a key function of art is to lift one’s spiritual development—support the soul. This applies to all buyers, no matter the intent or focus.
Spiritual development—feeding the soul—requires support; just as physical, emotional and intellectual development cannot exist in a vacuum or be ignored. Some equate spirituality with religious practice or church attendance. I don’t believe it’s enough to attend church and maybe “try to be a better person.” I still remember a story years back, somewhere in the 1980s, about a group of Roman Catholic nuns leaving the church because it wasn’t meeting their spiritual needs.
Art supports spiritual development just by being present: offering a moment of rest, an escape from the everyday, a broadening of perspective. Additionally, engagement may offer:
• a focus for meditation;
• generate a full-body response, as nothing else can;
• suggest a means to enter into a pure and abstract contemplative state through the elements of color, form, texture and composition.
• This freedom of engagement allows detachment from insistent wants and needs or verbal limits.
The idea that classical art supports spiritual development might be easier to grasp when including the performing arts and literature. Comments welcome.