On Artists: They reveal how we may subvert our unexamined mechanistic responses to the world
More revolutionary content from Istvan Dely's Wildfire. Have you downloaded it yet? -gw
I am of the conviction that, in the future, increasingly, one important measure of the spiritual maturity and health of the Bahá’í world community will be its capacity to attract and win the allegiance of artists of all kinds, and its sensitivity and imaginativeness in making creative use of them.Artists -- not tricksters and conjurers, but committed artists -- will be a vital force in preventing inflexibility in our community. They will be a source of rejuvenation. They will serve as a bulwark against fundamentalism, stagnation and administrative sterility. Artists call us away from formulas, caution us against the fake, and accustom us to unpredictability -- that trait which so characterizes life. They validate our senses. They link us to our own history. They clothe and give expression to our dreams and aspirations. They teach us impatience with stasis. They aid us to befriend our private experiences and heed our inner voices. They reveal how we may subvert our unexamined mechanistic responses to the world. They sabotage our smugness. They alert us to divine intimations. Art conveys information about ourselves and our universe which can be found nowhere else. Our artists are our benefactors.
1 comment:
Hi George
Can't help mentioning this:
In one of those special moments of coincidence, right after reading your post I came across a poem (addressed to God) containing this line:
"You haven’t led us here for stasis"
... reflecting Istvan's statement that artists "teach us impatience with stasis".
The poem, by a Muslim poet, complements Istvan's point nicely.
It can be found at
http://ecstaticxchange.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/poem-lord-wear-me-out/
Best wishes!
John
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