I once was blind, but now I see
Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 09:27AM 
Turnip • click to embiggenIn light of Pope Benedict XVI's recent meeting in the Sistine Chapel with over 250 artists (of all types) wherein he tried to kick-start an effort to improve the Catholic Church’s engagement with contemporary artists, I thought I would offer the following excerpts from the ...
LETTER OF HIS HOLINESS POPE JOHN PAUL II TO ARTISTS
1999
To all who are passionately dedicated to the search for new “epiphanies” of beauty so that through their creative work as artists they may offer these as gifts to the world.
“God saw all that he had made, and it was very good” (Gn 1:31)
1. None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you ....
..... 6. Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things. All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit ..... Every genuine art form in its own way is a path to the inmost reality of man and of the world. It is therefore a wholly valid approach to the realm of faith, which gives human experience its ultimate meaning. That is why the Gospel fullness of truth was bound from the beginning to stir the interest of artists, who by their very nature are alert to every “epiphany” of the inner beauty of things.
... 10. ... true art has a close affinity with the world of faith, so that, even in situations where culture and the Church are far apart, art remains a kind of bridge to religious experience. In so far as it seeks the beautiful, fruit of an imagination which rises above the everyday, art is by its nature a kind of appeal to the mystery. Even when they explore the darkest depths of the soul or the most unsettling aspects of evil, artists give voice in a way to the universal desire for redemption.
11. In the spirit of the Second Vatican Council ... the Fathers of the Council stressed “the great importance” of literature and the arts in human life: “They seek to probe the true nature of man, his problems and experiences, as he strives to know and perfect himself and the world, to discover his place in history and the universe, to portray his miseries and joys, his needs and strengths, with a view to a better future” ... at the end of the Council the Fathers addressed a greeting and an appeal to artists: “This world—they said—in which we live needs beauty in order not to sink into despair. Beauty, like truth, brings joy to the human heart and is that precious fruit which resists the erosion of time, which unites generations and enables them to be one in admiration!”
... 15. ... The Spirit is the mysterious Artist of the universe ... I would hope that all artists might receive in abundance the gift of that creative inspiration which is the starting-point of every true work of art ... Dear artists, you well know that there are many impulses which, either from within or from without, can inspire your talent. Every genuine inspiration, however, contains some tremor of that “breath” with which the Creator Spirit suffused the work of creation from the very beginning ... the Creator Spirit reaches out to human genius and stirs its creative power. He touches it with a kind of inner illumination which brings together the sense of the good and the beautiful, and he awakens energies of mind and heart which enable it to conceive an idea and give it form in a work of art. It is right then to speak, even if only analogically, of “moments of grace”, because the human being is able to experience in some way the Absolute who is utterly beyond.
16. ... my hope for all of you who are artists is that you will have an especially intense experience of creative inspiration. May the beauty which you pass on to generations still to come be such that it will stir them to wonder! Faced with the sacredness of life and of the human person, and before the marvels of the universe, wonder is the only appropriate attitude ... Beauty is a key to the mystery and a call to transcendence. It is an invitation to savour life and to dream of the future ... Artists of the world, may your many different paths all lead to that infinite Ocean of beauty where wonder becomes awe, exhilaration, unspeakable joy ....
.... “From chaos there rises the world of the spirit”. These words of Adam Mickiewicz ... prompt my hope for you: may your art help to affirm that true beauty which, as a glimmer of the Spirit of God, will transfigure matter, opening the human soul to the sense of the eternal.
IMO, there's actually some good shit in there.
food
Reader Comments (5)
Nice picture.
Well, aside from the fact that the turnip and the pope kind of look alike, I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.....
' I'm not sure what you're trying to say here.....'
He is saying that if you read the text there is something worthwhile there. It's clear what you are saying though and it has nothing to do with photography or art.
A little sensitive, are we Frank? And since when has Mark's blog been only about "photography or art"? And yes, I did read it. So chill a little. You'll live longer.
Besides, you gotta admit that the turnip bears a striking resemblance to the funny hat the guy wears sometimes.
"the funny hat the guy wears sometimes."
You can't let it go, can't you!