The Good of Art

Jonathan Edwards poetically expressed how the creation of the world came into being as an overflow of the relational love dynamically expressed among the persons of the Trinity. The material world is the manifestation of the active love present within God’s own triune being. Is it any wonder, then, that God consecrates his creative outcome in Genesis 1 as good? In a similar manner Colin Gunton understands God as the ultimate artist creating for love’s sake. He believes, “creation is a project, something God wills for its own sake and not because he has need of it” (The Cambridge Companion to Christine Doctrine, p.142). Creation then is intrinsically good in and of itself as an outpouring of God’s own love and beauty. Therefore, Richard Viladesau is correct to exclaim, “To experience beauty is to experience a deep-seated ‘yes’ to being” (Theology and the Arts, p.42).

One beautiful aspect of art is its ability to operate on many levels. Art reveals, inspires, and heals. It facilitates in a sensory way mediation of the world and our experiences in it. Art also reserves the power to elevate, motivate, and touch us in deep and meaningful ways that mere communication of facts cannot produce. Most importantly, art reminds us what it means to be human while at the same time discloses the divine and the transcendent—what is beyond us, what we hope for. But to continue to list the human benefits of art becomes a bit of an apologetic appeal. In our rationalistic society, pragmatism tends to rule and there is little room for art. We must therefore take the paradigm of God creating the world in and through love, not because he needed to, but because the constitution of love is generative and giving. Love and beauty beg for regeneration. Art is a gift to be given away, to inspire more works of art and to provide hope and meaning.

If it is true that art is self-expression as well as a reflection of the community it comes from, is it not likely that our work, our artistic creations as those who have a relationship with God, also contains the aroma of Christ? Despite the troubles and tribulations of our lives (that may also be evident in our art) Christ leads us in “triumphal procession,” and according to 2 Corinthians 3:14 distributes through us a fragrance—a sensory knowledge of himself. The love of God is so active it pours over us and inundates us with a scent. A scent, though not seen, is physically present—sometimes even discerned by taste. This presence clings to us, latches onto our work. Christians, therefore, should continue to participate in artistic actions not because they are necessary, but because love bids them to do so.
--Maria