As a favorite philosopher/theologian Francis Schaeffer stated quite appropriately in his thesis, How Should We Then Live, art is merely the expression of a man’s mind. I’ve spent many years processing this idea imparted to me by Dr. Schaeffer. I knew I agreed with him from the moment I heard him utter it, but I think I knew there was more that needed to be said.
The true artist is of either the most courageous among us or the genuinely nonchalant; for he dares to create something abiding which will outlast his own existence here. He is a person of conviction who boldly believes in his right and ability to impress on his own generation and on the ones to come his thoughts, his experience, or he is oblivious to his own place- maybe to his own identity, and in a whirlwind of reactivity leaves a piece of himself behind.
The importance of art certainly can not be overstated as it is of a permanence our physical bodies do not attain. Art will endure and it will influence and persuade those whom it touches. It will do these things with or without permission. It will do these things within and outside of boundaries, and it will remain our responsibility as individual souls to respond in a manner conducive to the blessing of our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Copyright 2018. L.L. Shelton.