I'm going to put myself out there and ask the question.
What is good art?
I am reading a book right now about art and Christianity and in the book they use this verse from Philippians 4:8
"8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
The book makes the point that we should use this verse as a benchmark for judging our own art as well as the art of others. Could it be that we have allowed moral relativism to seep into our thinking about art? If the Christian world has been so disconnected from the art world...does that mean that anything goes and anything is art? I am not talking about good craftsmanship. I am talking more on the lines of subject matter. I belong to a couple secular art groups on the web. Some artists are very political and want to make a statement with their art. Some art is just flat out evil. But have we been so disconnected that we are afraid to criticize when we see bad images reflected in art? With this blog I have been forced to ask myself these questions because I have to moderate the site. I have discovered in myself that art...any art has been OK with me because it is just that....art. Yet, we would not put some contemporary songs on our site if we were musicians because of the content and not all creative writing is good for the soul...so what about art? I would be interested in how all of you feel.
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1 comment:
What a great point. I can really relate to what you have shared about not judging art. There has been some art I have seen that was not where near the celebration that Philippians 4:8 expresses. I feel that we can learn alot about art and how we express ourselves and the direction God gives by using Phil. 4:8 as a guideline. I am willing to challenge myself to be more disciplined to think on this when I am developing my gifts and talents. Thank you for bringing this question to the for front.
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