
Is an artist only someone who makes art, or can it also be someone who simply loves art and understands the language of art? I don't know.
I ask myself this because I love art in all its forms but I feel terribly presumptuous to call myself an artist although they say, being a film student, you can. Yet I can't deny that something artistic flows in my veins. It's a language. Art moves me, whether it be by an abstract photo, an artistic dance, a movie, a piece of music, or a book read around a fire. Even as a child I was always drawn to these things, but being at Regent and studying art has developed and increased my artistic side in incredible ways. I understand that part of me more than I used to, and it doesn't feel silly or unusual. When I was younger I didn't know what to do with it, but I now see it as a strength and am delighted to find that the world is full of people who "speak art" even more than I do.
I saw Regent's production of The Runner Stumbles twice over the past weekend, once because a friend gave me a free ticket and once because I volunteered to usher (in which case, you get to see the play for free!). Theater is fast becoming my second love, next to film. Not that I could ever be an actor--which I'm observing takes incredible discipline that the average audience probably doesn't realize--but I'm always amazed at how the imagination is engaged when you let yourself be immersed in a performed story. As simple as the stage appears, somehow it can be incredibly powerful; it can move you in a different way than film can.
As exciting as main stage productions are at Regent, I find I'm almost prefering studio theater and second stage productions. A small cast in a tiny room with black walls and a couple of props--these are my favorite plays because they live or die based solely on the talent of the performers.
One of the most moving dramas I've experienced I saw a year ago in the tiny, black-walled acting studio with four performers, two benches, and three large mirrors on wheels. The audience consisted of about 30 people who sat in chairs in a semi-circle while the actors moved in the middle, the mirrors placed specifically to allow the audience to see the performers faces no matter where they were sitting. It was an intimate theater experience. The play itself was a very dark musical called The Disorientation of Butterflies and was written exclusively by a couple of grad students. It dealt with the heavy themes of death and suicide, death personified by a beautiful woman in black who tried to keep the lead character, a troubled young girl, from obsessing with her and embracing her before her time. "Breath on skin...did you feel me then?" It was dark, troubling, and deeply haunting--yet redemptive and beautiful. The whole audience cried.
As a Christian, I find art to be one of the most powerful forms of communication that exists. For me, and in my experience, the source of art is something deeply and profoundly spiritual. God speaks to me a lot through art; I feel more sensitive to His voice when I've been impacted by a story or an image or a strain of music. Engaging with art is also a way I respond to Him. It's a communion--just the two of us.
Needless to say, I'm picky about art. Some things move me, other things don't. I have a lot of issues with the cookie-cutter, trying-so-hard-to-be-hip-we-forgot-to-be-real Christian music industry that I feel is made up of a lot people who can play instruments but don't really know to use them. Art is NOT something you find in most Christian albums today. Just because a song says "Jesus" somewhere in the lyrics doesn't make it good--or true or "real," for that matter--it doesn't mean they are saying anything worth saying. And most Christian musicians today have forgotten that lyrics are an artistic choice; you don't need them to communicate something. And when you do have them, they are only half of the song.
Excuse the rant...I'll save the rest of it for another post.
Needless to say, there are some real artists on Christian radio today. I'm constantly finding new ones who have something honest and true to say and know how to say it well. The David Crowder Band is one of them. So are Matt Brouwer, Andrew Peterson, JJ Heller, and others.
Bethany Dillon is one that has stood out to me in the past couple of weeks, mainly because I've been listening to her cds on my way to work every day. She is simple, transparent, honest and good with her words and also understands a thing or two about the power of a melody. Her guitar is her tool, not her slave; she works with it and not simply uses it. She is a craftsman, so her soul can't help but show through her work. And what we see there is a deeper look at God's grace, His sovereignty, and His reckless and unconditional love as she has experienced it.
Take the time to soak up the lyrics below, and if you can, find the song and actually listen to it; the music is just as powerful as the words, if not more so. In fact, grab the whole cd ("Imagination") and listen to it as you drive. I guarantee you'll grasp something different and more profound each time you work your way through it--if you're truly listening.
I follow all the rules
Or at least, I'm trying
Hoping when my days are through
You will be pleased
I've lived for the longest days
Thinking my heart was bad
Too scared to look in Your face
Oh, if only I had!
Is it alright
If I stay here all night
By the shoreline?
I cannot believe that You are angry or unjust
When You have done nothing
But have compassion on us
So be near when I've given up
Be near me
I'm just like everyone else
We are all hiding
Acting like I have the wealth
Acting like I have the wealth
Of knowledge and peace
But all I've ever wanted
And what men have given their lives for
Is a God Who understands my weaknesses
A God Who I can love
Is it alright
If I stay here all night
By the shoreline?
I cannot believe that You are angry or unjust
When You have done nothing
But have compassion on us
So be near when I've given up
Be near me
I believe You are good and righteous
You've given me Your reckless love
So be near, be near me
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