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!

Courage

I often tell the story of an offhand comment the pastor of our church made to me one Sunday morning as we were leaving after the service, and how that comment has shaped my life since then.  In this case, it was a positive comment, but it still serves as a powerful illustration the power of words, both to build and destroy, to give life or to suck life out of someone.

In this particular case, as the pastor was standing at the back door greeting people as they left, he shook our hands as he always did when we walked past him.  But, this time, he added something to his usual pleasant greeting.  He looked me in the eye and said, "Chuck, you are a Barnabas, a 'Son of Encouragement.'"  I don't know if the statement came out of his own particularly keen wisdom (he was a very wise person),  or if God simply planted those words on his lips.  The funny thing is that, years later, when I asked him about the statement, he honestly didn't even remember saying that.  (He believed me, but he just didn't remember it.)  However, I remembered it, and it has become a key part of my identity ever since then.

Over the past several weeks, our team at the US headquarters for Operation Mobilization has been going through some training sessions looking at spiritual gifting, temperment, experiences and passions -- what are the things that make us tick, and  the kinds of ministries that very naturally flow out of our temperment and experiences.  The point is to both better understand ourselves and the people we work with, and how we work together (or sometimes don't) to form a team.

I got to thinking about the word "encouragement".  I've used that word to describe myself many times, but never really looked at the word itself.  During one of the sessions, "the light went on," and I noticed something which in hindsight is obvious, but I had never noticed before...

The root word for "encourage" is "courage".  What suddenly occurred to me (and was born out when I looked the word up in the dictionary) was that the essence of encouragement is to "inspire with hope, courage or confidence."  That got me to thinking about the meaning of courage.  To have courage is to have the ability to move forward with what we want, need or are called to do, even when the way is difficult and intimidating.  Of course, there are as many ways to do this as there are people who need encouraging, but the end result is always that the other person is strengthened, lifted and given a fresh sense of Hope.

Culture Shock

I think I am beginning to understand what "culture shock" means.

It's not that there is anything wrong -- it's just different, different, different, different.... Different road signs, different rules for crossing the street, different rules when you walk into a house, different food, different directions on doorways, different advertisements on the metro, different transportation, different cars, different money, different ways to measure distance, different bathrooms, day after day sitting with people as they chatter away in a different language and you don't have any idea what they are saying, going to a museum and someone gives you a long, detailed explanation of what you are looking at, and you only understand 0.1% of what he is saying. Sometimes, you may even recognize that this new way of doing something is better than what you do at home, but that still doesn't stop it from being different...

You aren't mad at people -- after all, they're just doing the normal things they have always done -- you just get TIRED. Tired of having to THINK about all the little bits of living that you never had to think about before. Tired of having to work so hard to accomplish the normal little bits of life that you have to do every minute of every day.

I've loved this trip to the Czech Republic, and to be honest, I'm still loving it, but I think I will be very, very glad to be home.