Art Essay
In considering the quote from Original Blessing by Matthew Fox, “whether creativity is not tiptoeing through the tulips, or talking of the powers to make a Trident submarine or the nuclear missiles that go on it, creativity is so divine that it is awesome,” and creativity is asking of me to tell mankind that love, and not war, can bring smiles back on the millions of people who die of starvation and sickness. While countries spend billions and billions of dollars on developing weapons of mass destruction, they should, through their artistic eyes, look at the wonderful world around them, and instead of spending money to destroy it, and the people living on Earth, they should spend money on helping the needy enjoy life in its pristine beauty.
Creativity is an in-born quality blessed with all humans, and it is up to them to open their artistic eye and see the world around them, to understand what they are mindlessly trying to do. As an artist, creativity is asking me to paint the beautiful world in which we live, and show the world how beautiful this world is. I am suddenly reminded of Milton’s Paradise lost, and would like to bring, into the minds of the minority few, who, through their acts in power, look to decimate this wonderful paradise we are blessed with. I, like the thousands of other contemporary, and preceding artists before me, would like to, through my creativity, show the world, how blessed we are to be provided with a home so beautiful as this earth, and that, in the name of development, and supremacy, forests are erased, and weapons of mass destruction are produced in thousands, only to destroy what God gave us as a gift for survival. “We are heirs of the fearful creative power of God,” (Matthew Fox) and to do the unimaginable would be to cast a shadow over our creation. My beliefs have led me to dedicate to the immense value of the arts, to connect to all of humankind and beyond, and that it should not be lost in the conundrums of insensitivity. This is what creativity is asking of me.
Reference
Fox, M, (1983), Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality Presented in Four Paths, Twenty-Six Themes, and Two Questions, Paperback, ISBN 1-58542-067-0
