Is art necessary? Its been a question that's been floating around in my mind the last few weeks and I think its been circling around in people's minds over the past eons... Technically we humans don't need art to survive. For our bodies to live we need food, shelter and water. Strictly speaking we should be fine if we have all those needs met. Yet my mind cringes at the idea of just having my needs met. I want to flourish and somehow I believe that art is tied into that seemingly elusive characteristic. Why? Because art is an expression of Beauty...
I've been thinking a lot about this because I recently began an art club at the school I am working at here in Ecuador. From what I am told, children here are not really taught to imagine and think creatively or critically. Mostly, they are taught to copy and to do things the way they are told. When I heard that, something inside of me told me that imagination and creativity are necessary parts of life, but at first I couldn't articulate why I felt that way, because on the surface they really are not. Why should a child learn to mix colors, and to imagine something that doesn't exist and create that on paper?
The other day, something clicked. I was walking through a street in the dirty squatter community where I work and saw a butterfly. When it opened its wings, I saw ebony-black with sky-blue splashed across its wings and it struck me what a wonderful artist God is. Each species of butterfly has its own unique artwork painted on its wings. In fact all of nature can be seen as God's artwork.
I am not a professional artist, I just like to dabble in painting here and there. But I've always sort of felt that my art is personal. If someone thinks its ugly, I feel hurt; if someone loves it, I am honored. In a way my artwork is an expression of who I am. God's art is the same. I believe we can find out who He is if we pay attention to the masterpiece He laid out for us in His creation. We can see he is artistic from the colors on butterfly wings. We can know He is creative from all the different shapes of animals that walk the planet. We learn He has a sense of humor from gamboling puppies and braying donkeys. We know He loves us by the fact that there are gorgeous sunsets- just 'cause. Not because we needed it, but because He wanted us to take pleasure in it.
To love God's nature is to give Him glory and I believe it pleases Him in the same way an artist takes pleasure when people admire their art. When we imitate that artwork, and imitate His action of creating in making our own art, stretching our minds and using our imagination that came straight out of His vast imagination, I think it makes Him smile. Yes, art is necessary because it has the potential to bring us closer to the very Heart that created it.
I've been thinking a lot about this because I recently began an art club at the school I am working at here in Ecuador. From what I am told, children here are not really taught to imagine and think creatively or critically. Mostly, they are taught to copy and to do things the way they are told. When I heard that, something inside of me told me that imagination and creativity are necessary parts of life, but at first I couldn't articulate why I felt that way, because on the surface they really are not. Why should a child learn to mix colors, and to imagine something that doesn't exist and create that on paper?
The other day, something clicked. I was walking through a street in the dirty squatter community where I work and saw a butterfly. When it opened its wings, I saw ebony-black with sky-blue splashed across its wings and it struck me what a wonderful artist God is. Each species of butterfly has its own unique artwork painted on its wings. In fact all of nature can be seen as God's artwork.
I am not a professional artist, I just like to dabble in painting here and there. But I've always sort of felt that my art is personal. If someone thinks its ugly, I feel hurt; if someone loves it, I am honored. In a way my artwork is an expression of who I am. God's art is the same. I believe we can find out who He is if we pay attention to the masterpiece He laid out for us in His creation. We can see he is artistic from the colors on butterfly wings. We can know He is creative from all the different shapes of animals that walk the planet. We learn He has a sense of humor from gamboling puppies and braying donkeys. We know He loves us by the fact that there are gorgeous sunsets- just 'cause. Not because we needed it, but because He wanted us to take pleasure in it.
To love God's nature is to give Him glory and I believe it pleases Him in the same way an artist takes pleasure when people admire their art. When we imitate that artwork, and imitate His action of creating in making our own art, stretching our minds and using our imagination that came straight out of His vast imagination, I think it makes Him smile. Yes, art is necessary because it has the potential to bring us closer to the very Heart that created it.
