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AN ARTISTS GROUNDS ON THE FAITH OF ART |
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| The advent of the technological revolution has heralded a recomposition of time and space and a redefinition of aesthetics rooted in humanistic traditions. | |
Hence the dilemma facing today’s artists is to embrace the challenges of modern life styles or to defer to the intellectual heritage of classicism. The life style of human being in the late twentieth century proceeds on a very different basis than before, which leads to a changed conception of art and culture. Despite changes of art “ forms”—no matter what word game art theorists may play—an artist is not be engulfed by the swirl of the new ideas. To stand firmly amid great changes, an artist must remain faithful to metaphysical truth of Art: that is, his principle is to ground himself on his faith. Art is an artist’s language that communicates his thoughts and sentiments—a bridge through which to interact with nature, a monologue by which an artist express his innermost soul, a rock on which an artist stands tall. Today, our society has burdened art (and artists as well) with too many labels-races, religions, nationalities, politics, ideologies, and cultural norms—so cumbersome that art as language has become “ the child of the aggregate principles and conventions of a time” (--Roland). The ruthless dismemberment of ancient civilizations by the cultural chauvinism of the developed countries, the “ going global” vision born out of poor artists’ materialistic desires, plus abundant Don-Quixotic dreams and wishful thinking—all these threaten the premises on which artists base their vision. As a result, too often the quality of art varies and becomes merely decorative to serve the aristocratic whims and to serve short-term ends. Art therefore too often falls from its glorious status of old days to commodity for speculation. For many, it has become the entrance tickets for the vulgar and the secular to the world of decency. It is Fleur du mal grown out of hypocritical humanism, the prostitute waiting to be called…… The pillars of Hellenism – noble simplicity and harmonious sublimity
– have crumbled down under the far cry of existentialism. The old wisdom of Chinese
civilization—great understanding of the Way of the Universe—has been peddled
around in discounts by its very own offspring, on the other end of the Pacific Ocean! Amid a time of global cultural famine, an artists needs to uphold his principles—to insure the purity of his art. He must inevitably rely on the depth of his thoughts, the purity of his feelings, and his awareness of himself as an artist. Without his self-awareness, Michelangelo would have never painted the breath- taking Genesis, Van Gough would have never shown us those fiery sunflowers, Wan Xi-Zhi would have never written that poetic “Lan Ting Xu” and Ba Da Shan Ren would not have calmly brushed out his fish and birds, Shu Wein would not have created those bitter yet noble ink work. An artist must be mindful of his purpose and his goals in an age of confusion. Only when he maintains his self-awareness, his self-confidence, and uphold his principles can he serve the artistic tradition. An Artist grounds on the faith of art. |
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