Surrounded by Art

There are several problems in our world. You know that. There are too many big problems for anyone to deal with, all at once anyway. There is hunger, war, poverty, abortion, HIV-AIDS and way more than that. All of these issues can be overwhelming if we let them overwhelm us. There are a few things that we can do something about, however. There are some issues that we can make a stand on and make a difference.

One such issue has to do with the arts. Our world, our culture, is seriously in trouble. The arts, particularly in schools, have been relegated to an under-funded, under-appreciated ghetto. As a society we have decided that we do not care about great music, great dance, great literature or great painting. Great theatre has been replaced with reality television.

The front line in this battle has been in our public schools. Arts funding in education has been cut over and over again. Local communities are opting to support the football team financially, but not the band. This is a very bad sign. (This is not limited to local schools, however. Cities all across America are 'investing' millions of dollars in stadiums hoping that will mean more money for their baseball teams and their communities. Meanwhile, the arts community struggles.)

People all across our nation need to begin to speak out, not against sports-related investment, but in favor of arts investment, beginning in our local schools.

• We need to protect our music, drama and fine arts programs.
• Every student should be taking an arts appreciation course at every level of school.
• Every person, adult and child, should be surrounding themselves with great art.
• We need to be advocating for the arts in a public setting as patrons, participants and artists.
• We should all be practicing art at every opportunity.
• We should be producing art whenever we can.
• We should be enjoying art in all its forms and settings.

Spirituality, Christianity, Seeking and the Arts

Over the past few years I have noticed a true hunger for spiritual things in the arts. I first noticed this several years ago when I read my first novel by John Grisham. Everyone was reading him, and although I had a general aversion to popular novels, I gave The Testament a try. I was not disappointed. It was a true page-turner. I have learned in the ensuing years that many of Grisham's books fall into that category.

The Testament is not one of Grisham's most popular works, but it is good. And one of the reasons that I liked it so much is that it is a blatantly spiritual novel. In fact, right in the middle of the thing there is a very clear presentation of the Christian faith and how to become a Christian.

Soon thereafter, I joined a reading group that read The Green Mile, by Stephen King. This was my first Stephen King book, and it was not at all what I expected. The main character in the book is a Messiah-figure with miraculous healing powers. One cannot read this book without getting a sense of longing for "otherness," a spiritual yearning. Then I read The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon. In this small book the main character, a little girl lost in the woods, prays. She prays to God.

But it is not just books that have these great spiritual themes. Movies are filled with searching, with thoughts and questions about God. The Matrix trilogy, the Star Wars movies, and many others are about Christian faith. Some of my recent favorites, including Walk the Line, are filled from front to back with Christian themes.

Popular music has followed that lead. Several years ago Christian artists like Kirk Franklin (Stomp) and Bob Carlisle (Butterfly Kisses) had huge popular hits with unashamedly Christian songs. Other Christian artists like Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith worked to achieve some popular crossover success. But more recently it has been the "secular" artists who have made it acceptable to sing about God. Consider Joan Osborne (One of Us) and Kanye West (Jesus Walks).

So why is all this happening? There are probably a million reasons, but I want to focus on only one. People are interested in spiritual things, and especially Christianity, because they have a spiritual hunger inside them. Every person, including you and I, were made to be spiritual. Most humans have a tendency to ignore that natural state. However, sometimes we need to think about God. We need to ask questions, to consider, to seek. That seeking is often displayed in our art.

Seek on!

Once More on the Arts

A recent article in the Indianapolis Star (July 27, 2008) gave some interesting statistics on the arts and specifically on arts in education. The resource cited is Americans for the Arts.

People who participate in the arts are...

• 4 times more likely to be recognized for academic achievement.
• 3 times more likely to be elected to class office within their school.
• 4 times more likely to participate in a math or science fair.
• 3 times more likely to win an award for school attendance.
• 4 times more likely to win an award for writing an essay or poem.

Young artists are likely to...

• Attend music, art and dance classes nearly three times more frequently than others.
• Participate in youth groups nearly four times more frequently.
• Perform community service more than four times as often.

Art does make a difference.

The Christian Arts Subculture

Christians seem obsessed, and rightfully so, with producing art and entertainment. God created the arts and he gave Christians artistic gifts and desires. He gave us the ability and the inclination to create. But there is a big problem with the Christian arts scene. It has become what can only be described as a ghetto.

The Christian arts world is segregated from reality. With very few exceptions, the music, dance, drama, film, literature and visual art that the Christian world produces has separated itself from anything that we might call the secular world. The very few instances when Christian artists have moved into the mainstream (these are almost always musicians) the motivation has been the entirely un-Christian attitude of greed.

So why has this happened? Why do we have inferior art in the Christian world? After all, we are biblically challenged to give our very best and to do our very best for the Lord. So, why don't we?

1. The Christian arts subculture is consumed with making money. No experimentation can take place because it might interfere with the profit margin. The Christian music world only produces what has sold in the past. It is all about the bottom line.
2. The Christian publishers and record companies are not owned by secular corporations. This is true in nearly every case. The profits and marketability of a product have become more important than ever. And beside that, the heads of these corporation have little, if any Christian context to evaluate whether or not a product is Christian and has quality.
3. The Christian arts subculture almost always imitates secular art. This keeps the Christian world a little bit behind everyone else all the time. It also serves as a stagnating agent.
4. The Christian arts subculture, bound as it is to imitation of the secular and the concern for profits, lacks creativity. In the Bible we are told that there is nothing new under the sun. This is definitely true in Christianity. If you want something new, creative, innovative or different you have to look to the secular world.
5. The Christian arts subculture lacks excellence. Again, the reasons have already been stated. Christians do not produce art, but products. The production of commodities leads to an "adequate" mindset. We determine that when things are good enough we can sell them.
6. Finally, the Christian subculture lacks variety. This is true in every form of art. If you have read about three Christian novels, you know the basic story of all the rest. If you have listened to four Christian albums, you can sing along to the others.

God is the master of Creation. He made it all, after all. How sad that his followers, that's you and I, allow mediocrity to be labeled as Christian. Open your eyes and ears. Know what is going on in the Christian world and start to make a difference.