But, what does it MEAN?

One of the interesting things I've noticed when looking at art with some of my non-artist friends, especially when looking at more abstract art, is the tendency of those friends to ask, "But, what does it mean?"

Now, in their defense, these friends really are trying to understand what they are looking at. They squint and turn their head sideways, trying to find something in the piece that they can recognize or connect to. Sometimes I try to tell them that a piece doesn't necessarily have to "mean" something, or that the "meaning" may be something that isn't necessarily describable in words per-say, but I'm not helped by the fact that some "art critic" somewhere has gone to endless lengths to describe in great intellectual detail what this or that artist is "saying" through the blobs of color splattered across the canvas.

However, the more I think about the "meaning" of art, the more I believe that we are asking entirely the wrong question.

To assign a meaning to a piece of art is to assume that the work has a narrative, and more important, that the narrative is fixed in time, that the artist understood that narrative, and that he or she intended to communicate that narrative to us, the viewer. However, real art isn't fixed in time. It is certainly a product of the historical context from which it was forged, but if it has any real worth, the work has to be able to speak to all time, and perhaps to all people. In addition, each person's response to the work will be colored by that individual's experience, history, story, perspective, emotional stability, what they ate for breakfast that morning, and a thousand other factors.

On the flip side, some people would claim that there is no true "meaning" to a work of art, and that it is completely subjective, based on the viewer's interpretation. I think this fails on the basis that it denies any participation from the artist, the person from who's imagination the work sprang. Intentionally or unintentionally, the artist has put some sort of thought, emotion, symbolism, or intent into the piece. They may not even be conscious of the messages (there are always more than one) in the piece, but they are there nevertheless.

I believe that the better way to think about the content, or message of a piece is to think in terms of intent and response.

An artist always has an intent when he or she begins to work with a piece. That intent may shift over time. It may have different levels of conscious or unconscious input. It may be dark and deeply meaningful, or light and playful. The intent will depend on the artist's world view, their experience, issues that they are familiar with, things they see around them and their response to the natural and man-made world. They will fold the things that make them happy, the things that make them sad, things that make them angry, things that make them afraid, things that give them hope, all the things that shape their lives, and which artists have learned to recognize and reflect on... and make them a part of their creation.

But then, no work of art exists entirely on its own. It's not really art until someone (presumably someone other than just the artist) looks at or experiences the work. When someone experiences the work, they will have a response. The response will be on different levels -- emotional, intellectual, spiritual, physical, and as I described above, will depend on a host of different personal attributes that they bring to the piece. Their response may change over time as they experience a piece more than once. The response may be conscious or unconscious. The important part is that the response is personal, and that it is true, in the sense that it is true for that individual

The interesting part is that, these two may, or may not overlap.  I suppose that most artists measure the success of their work by the degree to which these two do overlap, but perhaps the real measure of a work is the extent to which it speaks beyond the original vision of its creator, and touches many different people in many different ways.

The critical idea is that neither of these sides are the only truth. We cannot deny the part of the artist and what he or she intends for the work. The artist may choose to give the work a title, or other descriptive text, to signal some part of that intent, or at least what the were thinking about when they created the piece, or they may leave the work untitled, depending on the piece itself to communicate their intent. On the side of the observer, their response to the work goes far beyond "understanding" what the artist was trying to say. Just as some people laugh at the sight of a circus clown, while others cover their eyes and run away, responses can be wildly different. However, whatever the response is, the piece has done its job of speaking to them, to their imagination, their emotion, their physical body and to their intellect, and in that sense, is true.

Of course, that still may not help my poor friend standing there in front of the painting, trying to figure out what it means....  :-P

Development of the Artist

One of those late at night ideas bumping around in my brain, which I wanted to get down before it evaporated....

It struck me that people go through a number of stages/seasons/steps as they start to grapple with what it means to be an artist. These stages aren't really well defined, and have a lot of overlap, but I think they still map a definite progression in both the individual's understanding of their call, and of how other people begin to see them:

(1) Enthusiasm: This is the stage where a person first starts to recognize some sort of aptitude with art -- typically drawing things in notebooks or music -- and they begin to realize that they really ENJOY creating pretty things. More often than not, they are young, without a lot of life experience, but they are just waking up to the joy of creativity and imagination. This is where big dreams start.

(2) Skill: This is the hard work level, where people start to become serious about being an "artist". They may be terribly self-deprecating, but nevertheless, they begin to put in the effort necessary to develop real, tangible skills. This is the stage where other people start recognizing them as "artists". They start taking classes, practicing, defining a style, hanging out with other artists, polishing their craft.

(3) Meaning: At some point, in order to become more than a skilled craftsman, or someone who can make "pretty" things, an artist needs to begin to understand not only how to create (imagination), but how to create meaning (soul). This is the hard part, and frankly, where things begin to get really messy. The message is not always clear, even inside of the artist's head. Their artwork can begin to get edgy, dark, and push boundaries. The artist begins to experiment, sometimes with disastrous results. HOWEVER, in order for an artist to become relevant, he or she must go through this season -- to survive the storms, so see things that no one else can see.

As followers of Christ, this is the stage where Christ really enters into our art, and we become Incarnational.

Untitled?

One of the artistic Web sites that I have begun to visit on a regular basis is called: DeviantArt.  Sort of a weird name, but it actually has a wide variety of artists and their work, from teenagers posting their doodles to real, professional and highly skilled artists.  My favorite part about the site is the ability to comment on pieces with the artist, and to get into a meaningful dialogue with them on their work.  Now, most comments are pretty simplistic: "Hey, beautiful photo!" and the like, but sometimes you can get some real feedback and maybe suggestions.

One of the things I like to do on that site is to take the time to really look at the art there, whether it's a painting, photo, digital image or sculpture, and try to "understand" the piece.  Now, understanding doesn't necessarily involve figuring out what a piece "means", but it does have components of getting into not only what sorts of thoughts or emotions were going through the artist's self and how he or she has reflected these in their artwork, but also getting a handle on what sorts of thoughts or emotions the piece elicits in me.  Obviously, some pieces speak more strongly than other pieces, and not all pieces are that "deep" in their meaning (though you could argue endlessly about how much every single piece by an artist reflects some level of the artists view of the world around them), but I at least want to give the artwork a chance to speak to me.

Two of the major pieces of this puzzle are the Title and Description, and in particular, the Title.  I know I have to be careful to not take titles too literally, but they are still an important window into what the artist him/herself sees in the work.  I have to say that, of all the artists I have met here, ChristineKalliri creates probably the most thoughtful and provoking titles that I have ever seen, though others (such as mialepson, pearwood and Nelleke) come up with some very creative and descriptive titles.  I even saw one painting here recently called, "The Blue Haired Girl", which might not seem that outstanding as a title, but even that gives me a hint what the artist was thinking of.  It's more than simply a label or tag.  It's a key to unlock the heart of the piece itself.

When I look at a piece, together with what the artist has titled it, I can begin to relate to the piece, to see what little bits and pieces the artist has included, or how they have cropped down certain portions, or how the subject's shoulders or eyes are turned, how their fingers are clenched or relaxed, whether the mouth is open, relaxed, pursed or pulled into an artificial smile.  The lighting begins to have significance, or even how a sculptor chooses to turn a 3D piece to photograph it.  Why did the photographer choose to point into the sun, creating a flair that obscures most of the rest of the photo?  Is their focus tightly concentrated on one aspect, or muted and soft?

I know...  Creating a good title can be hard.  Sometimes I know a piece's title even before I start sculpting it -- the picture in my head is that strong.  Other pieces may grow titles as I work on them.  Sometimes a piece will "tell" me what its title is.  (That's a little bit of an odd experience!)  I have some other pieces where I know what I am thinking when I look at the piece, but a good, non-cliche title still escapes me.

It bothers me when an artist hasn't really titled a piece (unless, of course, it's a WIP, and may not have a title yet).  It's like the piece isn't really finished yet.  It's kind of a cop-out in a way, a shortcut, or perhaps even a lack of real respect for (or belief in) the artist's own work.  I know, even I have some untitled pieces (mostly in progress shots), and maybe I'm admitting that I'm unsure of the validity of the piece.  Maybe I haven't even figured out the sculpture in my own mind.  (I know I have some of those.)  But, if a piece is finished, I really want it to have a title.

So, if you're reading this, then really pause and take the time to give your photos or paintings or sculptures a name, just as you would give your child a name.  It doesn't mean you are constraining your piece to that one thought or topic, or even that you completely understand your own emotions as you created the work or as you look at it now, but it does mean that you respect and value your own art, and even yourself as an artist, enough to introduce it to the world as part of yourself.

Blessings!

Does Art Matter?

  Those of you who have been partnering with us for the past couple of years should remember some of the stories from my trip with OM Arts to the city of Baja in southern Hungary in 2011. I wanted to share a story with you which I just heard a couple of weeks ago – one which speaks about the lasting impact of our short trip there.

  On that trip, one of our main objectives was to create a large scale piece of art which would be a part of the final concert in the main town square of Baja. The message we sensed from God was how He takes our brokenness and transforms it into beauty. He doesn't always "fix" things in our lives, but He takes those broken pieces and transforms them into something beautiful. The word we found in Hungarian which best communicated this transformation was, "Csodálatos", which means full of wonder and beauty and awe, and has the sense of birth and new life. We decided to do the piece as a "graffiti wall", on a 5' by 12' canvas.

  After we presented this piece live on stage for the concert, the local pastor we were working under in Baja had a strong sense that God wasn't finished with this word for his city. There was a particular bridge over the river which runs through Baja which was well known as an “evil” area, a place for drug use, drinking and other activities. The pastor's vision was to bring the Spirit of God into that place through our art. So, that evening, we took our stencils and spray paint and went to the walkway which passed under the bridge. After spraying over some of the obscenities there, we proceeded to put up the same graffiti art we had done at the concert, along with the Scripture from John 7:38 – "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'"

  Since that time, I have always wondered about that bridge, and whether or not our work there had had a lasting impact. That's where the story continues...

  A little while ago I received a note from Pat Butler, who led the Hungary outreach. She had just received a message from the pastor:

By the way, the City Manager gave Baja a new theme or slogan that he was inspired to do... He passes under that bridge twice daily... Can u guess? Csodálatos Baja... It's on all their letterhead and tourist stuff... Makes one think! ps .... Thank U, for that summer together... Irreplaceable!

Stunning outreach! U Rock!

Looking forward to our next commission from God!

So, more than two years later, the word we left spray-painted on a bridge abutment along a walkway following the river is transforming the city of Baja!

Czech Republic, 2013:

  We are still working toward returning to the city of Prague in the Czech Republic with OM Arts this September. We look forward to sharing our sculpture and fiber arts again, connecting with people and challenging them to consider God's claims on their lives. We were able to interact with hundreds of people last year in the streets of Prague, and we look forward to cultivating those seeds we planted, and to the fruit of the Gospel as we co-labor with the Czech believers, reaching the lost!

  We have purchased our airline tickets, but are still a good distance from raising the approximately $5,000 needed overall for both of us for this trip.

  Please continue to pray about how God wants you to be a part of this outreach, how you can bless the people of Prague!