ART MAKES US ALL RICHER!
by Alexander Green
Dear Reader,
Last week, some friends and I were in Vienna and visited the
Belvedere, a magnificent Baroque palace that is now an art museum.
My publisher, Julia Guth, is a fan of Austrian painter
Gustav Klimt, a turn-of-the-twentieth-century artist, who was once marginalized
but is now considered a modern master. As some of his best-known work was on
exhibit there, we decided to have a look.
The highlight was Klimt's most-loved piece "The
Kiss," a remarkable 72-inch by 72-inch painting that depicts a couple, in
various shades of gold and symbols, locked in an embrace and sharing a kiss
against a bronze background. The painting - which now adorns everything from
coffee cups to calendars - is one of the most recognizable icons of modern art.
I enjoyed the piece, but something else struck me. As our
group stood admiring it, a young woman in the room turned and suddenly
recognized the painting.
Her mouth fell open and she stepped slowly forward, her
right hand curling up to her heart. She stood in front of the painting for
several minutes, wide-eyed and speechless. When we left the museum half an hour
later, she was still anchored there.
What is it about art that shocks, amuses, provokes or
enchants us? Like language, art emerges spontaneously and universally across
cultures, from the Palaeolithic cave paintings of Lascaux to the experimental
art of today.
Art is a quintessentially human activity. It separates us
from the rest of the animal kingdom. Sure, we have intelligence, but other
animals do, too, even crows. We have complex language, but so do dolphins and
whales. Even our use of tools is not unique. More than forty years ago, Jane
Goodall discovered chimpanzees in East Africa extracting termites from their mounds
with blades of grass. They were effectively "fishing" for dinner.
Only homo sapiens have an aesthetic sense, a need for
expression in words, music, painting or sculpture, although no one really
understands why.
Art objects are among the most opulent, extravagant, and
glittering creations of the human mind. They expand our understanding of the
world. They intensify experience and give us a sense of the sublime.
Art can be dangerous too. Plato feared that immoral art
would steer people away from the virtuous and the good. In his Republic, he
recommends that the state censor the arts for the protection of the citizens.
(Not one of his better ideas.)
A museum is a cathedral of contemplation, a place to
discover riches of imagination and insight. "Art teaches nothing,"
said Henry Miller, "except the significance of life." Proust said,
"Thanks to art, instead of seeing one world, our own, we see it
multiplied, and as many original artists as there are, so many worlds are at
our disposal."
Art surprises you, makes you see things in new ways. A
particular work can stretch your perceptions and expand your mental capacities.
It can purge emotions, clear your mind, edify and enlarge the soul.
Art means different things to different people, of course. I
don't agree with those who insist you need to appreciate a certain artwork for
the right reasons. There may be wrong reasons for disliking a piece of art, but
there can't be a wrong reason for liking one. You might easily enjoy a
particular landscape painting not because it exemplifies some school or
movement but because of its loveliness or realism. Or maybe it just reminds you
of home. Interpretations are bound to vary.
We often see in pictures what we would like to see in our
lives. We all enjoy beauty in nature and harmony in our relationships. Yet we
can also admire pictures of war or tragedy or evil. These, too, are facets of
life.
Some things can't be adequately verbalized. Art gives full
expression to love, compassion, humour and delight in life, tenderness,
self-sacrifice, and intimations of mortality, as well as confusion, alienation,
terror or sadness.
Artists with extraordinary skill probe the content of life
and articulate strong emotions. They create a feeling of recognition and
communion with others. It is more than just the sheer wonder of seeing
something beautiful or new. A great artist stimulates our imagination. The
action takes place in the theatre of the human mind.
However, the raison d'etre of art is not to communicate
emotion, but understanding. Indeed, art shares something important with
science. Both are truth-seeking activities that attempt to probe the nature of
reality and tell us about ourselves and our world. Success in each field
depends on the creative originality of a few rare individuals who take
imaginative leaps into the unknown. Is it possible to have a full understanding
of life without some acquaintance with both?
Art expresses individuality - and not just the artist's.
What you hang on the walls of your home or office reveals your interests, your
passions. To a lesser extent, this is also true of clothing, jewellery and
makeup. Why does it create an awkward moment when two women show up at a dinner
party wearing the same evening dress? Because the event is an opportunity for
personal expression. Clothes can represent our taste and individuality - but
that isn't easy when someone else is wearing the same thing.
Art isn't always practical. It is meant for aesthetic
enjoyment, often expressed as art "for its own sake." And while only
a few fortunate souls are able to create objects of enduring beauty, most of us
have some corner of our souls that yearn for it.
What is it that enables some men and women to create truly
great works of art? Most artists want to receive market value for their work,
but few are motivated by money. In Human Accomplishment, Charles Murray puts
forward the idea that the greatest art was historically created against a
backdrop of "transcendental goods" - a belief that real beauty
exists, there is objective truth, and the good is a value independent of human
culture.
He notes that when the great Gothic cathedrals of Europe
were built, many of the gargoyles and other ornaments were carved high on
cathedral walls and behind cornices. Why would stonemasons hide their work in
places where they could not be seen? Because they believed they were carving
for the eye of God.
This notion clearly inspired many of history's greatest
artists. Leonardo da Vinci painted to the greater glory of God. Michelangelo's
devotion is well displayed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. French author
Andre Gide once said, "Art is collaboration between God and the artist,
and the less the artist does the better."
A true masterwork doesn't just relate to its time or our
time but all time. It's this level of virtuosity that makes you stop and say,
"I can't believe another human being did that."
Most of us enjoy being bowled over. In The Art Instinct,
Denis Dutton writes that, "Standing before a masterpiece you are in the
presence of a power that exceeds anything you can imagine for yourself,
something greater than you ever can or will be. The rapture masterpieces offer
is literally ecstatic - taking you out of yourself."
That feeling clearly affected the woman I saw standing before
"The Kiss" last week. Her encounter was a life-enhancing moment,
perhaps even a spiritual one.
How fortunate artists are to possess these talents, to
create objects of beauty and meaning, to have the power to move us, to make us
feel what that young woman felt.
They make all our lives richer.
