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Response/Ability
The Artist’s Responsibility to God, Church, and Man
“But each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another,” wrote St. Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians. Paul, preacher and apostle of Christ Jesus, was also an artisan and supported himself through his trade of making tents[1]. From time immemorial, artists and artisans have labored, producing works of enduring beauty. The oldest records of human activity – records themselves so ancient that their origin is lost in the mist of time – record the actions of man as artist; the cave paintings of long-gone civilizations, the only record of these peoples, are works of art, portraits recording the activities of a people of whom all else is long forgotten.
The artist is given a valuable artistic ability by God. It is clear that the created owes a debt to the Creator; the artist, by virtue of the ability given to him, is indebted to the One who gives him this ability. In a deeper consideration of the nature of this debt, it becomes clear that the debt is not owed merely to God but is owed as well to God’s pilgrim church on earth and to all of mankind. The artistic ability given by God calls for a proper artistic response and creates in the artist a definite response-ability that leads the artist to a responsibility to use his talents in such a way that the work of God is advanced through the making present of the good, the true and the beautiful on earth.
Art is at the heart of man; art is a pursuit of the good, the true and the beautiful. Art places man in relationship to the good, the true and the beautiful, and since the purest essence of the good, the true and the beautiful is God Himself, for it is God’s nature to express the fullness of the Good, the True, and the Beautiful, it clearly follows that through art man is exploring the nature of his relationship with God. In this exploration, the artist takes upon himself certain responsibilities that are proper to him as artist. These responsibilities stem from the very nature of the gift given him by God, his maker, and cannot be taken lightly just as the gift of artistic ability cannot be taken lightly.
The connection between the good and the beautiful is affirmed by Pope John Paul the Great, himself a poet of no small accomplishment, in his 1999 Letter to Artists in which he writes, “The theme of beauty is decisive for a discourse on art. It was already present when I stressed God’s delighted gaze upon creation. In perceiving that all He had created was good, God saw that it was beautiful as well. The link between good and beautiful stirs fruitful reflection. In a certain sense, beauty is the visible form of the good, just as the good is the metaphysical condition of beauty. This was well understood by the Greeks who, by fusing the two concepts, coined a term which embraces both: kalokagathía, or beauty-goodness. On this point Plato writes: ‘The power of the Good has taken refuge in the nature of the Beautiful’.”[2] Pope John Paul II goes on to tie the good and the beautiful to the true later in his Letter when he observes that Christ, the Incarnate Deity, through His Incarnation and in becoming man, “has introduced into human history all the evangelical wealth of the true and the good, and with this he has also unveiled a new dimension of beauty, of which the Gospel message is filled to the brim.”[3]
It is important to begin any consideration of the proper function of the artist with a clear understanding of what it means to create. Properly speaking, the act of creation belongs to God alone, for He alone creates. The most a human person can do is sub-create, or rearrange what is already created. Any act of human creation relies on materials and ideas already present in the world; thus, any act of human creation is merely an imitation of the creative acts of God Himself, the true and eternal artist. This is important because it illustrates so clearly the debt owed by the human artist to the Divine Artist, without Whom the human artist would neither create nor even exist. All artistic ability is creative in nature, and is therefore a gift from God.
God gives the artist his artistic aptitude for a reason, and that reason is to help further mankind in its advancement toward an ever-clearer and more proper relationship with God the Creator. This advancement begins with bettering the lot of mankind. As the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World states, “According to the almost unanimous opinion of believers and unbelievers alike, all things on earth should be related to man as their center and crown”[4] and that “the intellectual nature of the human person is perfected by wisdom and needs to be, for wisdom gently attracts the mind of man to a quest and a love for what is true and good.”[5] Therefore, it is clear that as the artist grows in wisdom, he will feel an ever-greater attraction to the service of man in his exploration of what is good, true and beautiful.
The artist labors in the pursuit of beauty and goodness; as long as he also labors in pursuit of the truth he will not labor in vain. It is in the nature of human labor to advance the dignity of the one who labors[6] and of all of mankind[7]. “Human labor cannot be treated merely as a resource necessary for production – the so-called ‘work force.’ Man cannot be regarded as a tool of production. Man is the creator of work and its craftsman. Everything must be done to ensure that work does not lose its proper dignity. The purpose of work – of all work – is man himself. By means of his work he should be able to perfect and deepen his own personality. It is not right to forget – and I want to emphasize this strongly - that work is ‘for man’ and not man ‘for work’,” said Pope John Paul II in his June 2nd homily, given during his 1997 pastoral visit to his native Poland.[8] In this statement, the Holy Father’s deep understanding of the purpose of work and man’s importance in and superiority over work is beautifully illustrated.
Certainly this understanding of labor as a vehicle to advance the dignity of the laborer and of mankind is not a new understanding. In his encyclical Centesimus Annus, Pope John Paul the Great celebrates the one-hundredth anniversary of the promulgation of Pope Leo XIII’s very important encyclical Rerum Novarum by proclaiming “The present encyclical is part of these celebrations [to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of Rerum Novarum], which are meant to thank God – the origin of ‘every good endowment and every perfect gift’ (Jas 1:17) – for having used a document published a century ago by the See of Peter to achieve so much good and to radiate so much light in the Church and in the world.”[9] This statement, made by a man who is rightly considered one of the greatest thinkers of the twentieth century, should not be overlooked as some mere platitude for his noble predecessor in the See of Peter. In fact, this statement can and should serve to illuminate the model upon which the artist basis his work because God – the origin of “every good endowment and every perfect gift” – should be able to use the artist’s work just as He is able to use the Holy Father’s: to achieve so much good and to radiate so much light in the Church and in the world.
It is a fundamental truth in Canon Law that the catholic has rights because he has responsibilities[10]. It is important to have a correct understanding of the relationships between various rights and responsibilities. For example, Canon 211 states that “All the Christian faithful have the duty and right to work so that the divine message of salvation more and more reaches all people in every age and in every land.” The Gospel of Luke teaches that “the laborer deserves his wage.”[11] This does not mean that the Church is obligated to engage anyone as a paid artist; it likewise does not mean the Church is entitled to expect artists to work for free.
Certainly, volunteering to use one’s talents in the service of the Church is noble and should be done to a reasonable degree. However, there is certainly a greater tendency to ask, or even expect, an artist to work for free than there is to expect an accountant to work for free. The artist’s talent and ability are God-given gifts, but just like the accountant’s God-given gift of a talent for mathematics, the artist’s talent is meant to advance his dignity as well as the dignity of mankind. As Pope Leo XIII wrote, “Clearly the essential reason why those who engage in any gainful occupation undertake labor, and at the same time the end to which workers immediately look, is to procure property for themselves and to retain it by individual right as theirs and as their very own. When the worker places his energy and his labor at the disposal of another, he does so for the purpose of getting the means necessary for livelihood. He seeks in return for the work done, accordingly, a true and full right not only to demand his wage but to dispose of it as he sees fit. Therefore, if he saves something by restricting expenditures and invests his savings in a piece of land in order to keep the fruit of his thrift more safe, a holding of this kind is certainly nothing else than his wage under a different form; and on this account land which the worker thus buys is necessarily under his full control as much as the wage which he earned by his labor. But, as is obvious, it is clearly in this that the ownership of movable and immovable goods consists. Therefore, inasmuch as the Socialists seek to transfer the goods of private persons to the community at large, they make the lot of all wage earners worse, because in abolishing the freedom to dispose of wages they take away from them by this very act the hope and the opportunity of increasing their property and of securing advantages for themselves.”[12]
The act of expecting (or even requiring[13]) an artist to volunteer his time and ability is nothing other than socialism at its worst and damages the dignity of the artist and those who benefit from his work so obtained. Such unreasonable expectations are contrary to the dignity of man and create a situation in which man is reduced to being an object and becomes nothing more than something that is “for work,” and is used as a means to obtain an end. The laborer does deserve his wage and the principles of social justice and human solidarity[14] must always be maintained.
Since the artist bears a responsibility to God and man, it is important to understand the response the artist is called to make. We have seen that the purpose of labor is to advance the dignity of the one who labors as well as to advance the dignity of mankind. It is through a full understanding of how it is that the artist can advance the dignity of mankind that an understanding of the artist’s proper use of his artistic talent can be found.
In his Letter to Artists, Pope John Paul II began with a consideration of God, the Divine Artist. The Holy Father reminded his readers that in the beginning God looked upon what He had created and found it good. The consideration of God as the Creator Artist is found in earliest Christianity.
Consider the Apology of Athenagoras, Athenian citizen and a Christian, who wrote to Emperors Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius Cominodus, whom he addressed as “conquerors of Armenia and Sarmatia, and – what is more important – philosophers.” In explaining the difference between the Creator and the created, Athenagoras wrote, “It is like the potter and the clay. The clay is matter; the potter is an artist. So is God the creator an artist, while matter is subject to him for the sake of his art. But as clay cannot by itself become pottery without art, so matter, which is altogether pliable, cannot receive distinction, form, or beauty apart from God the creator. We do not, moreover, reckon pottery of more value than the potter, or bowls or vessels of gold than the artisan. If they have artistic merit, we praise the artist. It is he who reaps the renown for making them. So it is with matter and God. It is not matter that justly receives praise and honor for the arrangement and beauty of the world, but its creator, God. If, then, we were to worship material forms as gods, we should seem to be insensitive to the true God, identifying what is eternal with what is subject to dissolution and corruption.”[15]
It is not unreasonable to expect man, made to the likeness and image of God[16], to behave in a human way in the same manner that God behaves in His divine way. Thus, the human artist is called to create goodness and beauty in the world in the same manner as the Divine Artist Himself created goodness and beauty. This is possible for the artist to achieve because unlike God, Who created goodness and beauty from nothing, the human artist creates using the materials of creation already created in goodness by God.
One might wonder if it is reasonable to expect an artist to devote all of his work to the glory of God; after all, it would be very difficult for any artist to actually make a living working at creating art if all artists were to suddenly devote themselves to religious themes. Of course, such an objection is not valid and in actuality is made only to obfuscate the truth of the first statement because it is in fact very possible for the artist to devote all of his work to the glory of God. This does not mean that the issue can or should be simplified to the absurd point that anyone expects all artists to paint portraits of the Virgin Mary and nothing else.
What it means is that all artists should bear in mind the teaching of the Angelic Doctor, who wrote that the good use of art depends on the right use of it by the artist and that “In order that man may make good use of the art he has, he needs a good will, which is perfected by moral virtue; and for this reason the Philosopher says that there is a virtue of art; namely, a moral virtue, in so far as the good use of art requires a moral virtue. For it is evident that a craftsman is inclined by justice, which rectifies his will, to do his work faithfully.”[17] In St. Thomas’s writing, the line between “craftsman” and “artist” is not as distinct as we make it today; however, this was perfectly in keeping with the thought of his time, which put a high premium on the ability of the craftsman, a premium which is somewhat diminished in our own day, although the recognition of the value of superior craftsmanship is something that seems to be on the rise again. In truth, an artist must also be a craftsman because in whatever media the artist works there are tools and materials that must be mastered before the artist’s statement can be clearly made.
In the light of St. Thomas’s teaching, it becomes clear that the artist who makes good use of his art and acts with a desire for justice and is working for the glory of God. The same artist who uses his talent to create a beautiful portrait could also use that same talent to create the vilest pornography; clearly, in the first instance he is working to advance the good, the true, and the beautiful and is therefore using his ability for the glory of God while in the second instance his work becomes a mockery of the good, the true, and the beautiful and is counter to the glory of God. The USCCB teaches that, “Quality art draws the beholder to the Creator, who stands behind the artist sharing His own creative power, for the ‘divine Artist passes on to the human artist a spark of His own surpassing wisdom.’ This is true of music, architecture, sculpture, painting, pottery making, textiles, and furniture making, as well as other art forms.”[18]
The Second Council of Nicaea was called in the year 787. The purpose of this Council was to restore the honoring of religious icons and holy images, which had been suppressed by imperial edict inside the Byzantine Empire. The Second Council of Nicaea solemnly affirmed the existence of ecclesiastical tradition entrusted to Holy Mother Church that supports the veneration of painted icons and religious images. On the 1200th anniversary of the Second Council of Nicaea, Pope John Paul II wrote that “Art for art’s sake, which only refers to the author, without establishing a relationship with the divine world, does not have its place in the Christian concept of the icon. No matter what style is adopted, all sacred art must express the faith and hope of the Church. The tradition of the icon shows that the artist must be conscious of fulfilling a mission of service to the Church.”[19]
Though the Holy Father was writing specifically about art intended to draw the viewer to a closer relationship with God and a deeper understanding of the truths of the faith, such a notion applies to a degree to all works of art created. God is the Creator; artists sub-create, inspired by a spark of the divine genius. Thus, true art “is meant to bring the divine to the human world, to the level of the senses, then, from the spiritual insight gained through the senses and the stirring of the emotions, to raise the human world to God, to His inexpressible kingdom of mystery, beauty, and life.”[20]
“The classes and duties of life are many, but holiness is one”[21] teaches the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church. Each has his own special gift from God, one of one kind and one of another. The artist is endowed with a powerful gift because he has both the ability and the opportunity to make the good, the true and the beautiful present in the world; he has the ability to bring the divine into the experience of men. With this gift comes the responsibility to use that gift in such a way as it advances both his personal dignity and the dignity of mankind.
The Second Vatican Council teaches that “all the faithful of Christ of whatever rank or status, are called to the fullness of the Christian life and to the perfection of charity; by this holiness as such a more human manner of living is promoted in this earthly society.”[22] For the artist, this call to the “fullness of the Christian life” is the same as for all Christians and it means making the Christian life present in all aspects of his daily life and work. It is in this way that the artist can truly bring the divine into the human world and in turn lift human emotions to God; it is in this way that the artist can express in his own unique, human way a glimpse of the fullness of goodness, truth, and beauty that is God, inexpressible in His fullness to anyone other than the Divine Artist Himself. This is the responsibility of the artist: to use his ability in a proper and fitting response to God’s call. The gifts that God gives are never given in vain, nor are they given arbitrarily. It is the duty of the artist to use his gifts in the true advancement of goodness and beauty in the human world and to work always for his own dignity, the dignity of all of mankind, and for the greater glory of God, to Whom all true beauty truly belongs.
[1] Cf. Acts 18:1-3, 20:33-35; 2 Thessalonians 3:8; 1 Corinthians 9, especially verse 12; Philippians 4:14-16.
[2] Pope John Paul II, Letter to Artists, 3
[3] Ibid, 5
[4] Gaudium et Spes, 12
[5] Ibid., 15
[6] “And yet, in spite of all this toil-perhaps, in a sense, because of it-work is a good thing for man. Even though it bears the mark of a bonum arduum, in the terminology of St. Thomas, this does not take away the fact that, as such, it is a good thing for man. It is not only good in the sense that it is useful or something to enjoy; it is also good as being something worthy that is to say, something that corresponds to man’s dignity, that expresses this dignity and increases it. If one wishes to define more clearly the ethical meaning of work, it is this truth that one must particularly keep in mind. Work is a good thing for man-a good thing for his humanity-because through work man not only transforms nature, adapting it to his own needs, but he also achieves fulfillment as a human being and indeed, in a sense, becomes ‘more a human being.’” Pope John Paul II, Laborem Exercens, II.9, fourth paragraph.
[7] Cf. Laborem Exercens, II.10
[8] http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/travels/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_02061997_en.html, accessed 07 May 2009. The Holy Father’s use of the word “creator” here was not meant in a theological sense, for he states clearly in other writings that God alone creates and man merely sub-creates. His use of this term was most likely to emphasize the lexical link between the words “creator” and “craftsman,” which is present in the Polish in which he spoke that day. See also “Letter to Artists,” section 1, paragraph 3.
[9] Centesimus Annus, 2
[10] Cf. Code of Canon Law, Book II, Title I, Canons 208-223
[11] Luke 10:7
[12] Rerum Novarum, 9
[13] I am reminded of a case in a catholic school in which a music teacher was not retained in her position at the school because she would not volunteer as music director for the parish.
[14] Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1940
[15] Early Christian Fathers, “In Defense of the Faith: Athanagoras’ Plea,” in Welcome to the Catholic Church, Harmony Media, electronic edition.
[16] Genesis 1:26
[17] Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 57, Article 3
[18] United States Council of Catholic Bishops, Built of Living Stones, 147
[19] Pope John Paul II, The Apostolic Letter “Duodecimum Saeculum,” 11
[20] Built of Living Stones, 142
[21] Lumen Gentium, 41
[22] Lumen Gentium, 40