#relatable Ep7: Letter to Artists

This is part of a 8-part series where I take a closer look at Vatican documents and distill some gems that you can take with you on your own journey to knowing and loving Him.

I reflected on my identity as an artist recently and have struggled to believe that I have an inherent creative ability in me - maybe it's those C's I was getting in secondary school art class. I took a step into the unknown and embarked on watercolour, acrylic..... It has been a blessing to reawaken the creative part of my identity and to discover too what St John Paul II has to say to artists.

I will focus on 3 key areas which touched me deeply and which you may consider for reflection too!

1. The artist, image of God the Creator

None can sense more deeply than you artists, ingenious creators of beauty that you are, something of the pathos with which God at the dawn of creation looked upon the work of his hands. A glimmer of that feeling has shone so often in your eyes when—like the artists of every age—captivated by the hidden power of sounds and words, colours and shapes, you have admired the work of your inspiration, sensing in it some echo of the mystery of creation with which God, the sole creator of all things, has wished in some way to associate you.

Oftentimes, we forget that we are created in God's image and likeness and only see the broken versions of ourselves. Artists have attempted to recognise this inherent beauty in what lies around us and construct meaning out of what is already there - the Creator Himself is the one who brings something out of nothing and the artist uses something that already exists and gives it form and meaning. We often deny that we have any creative capacity, but usually we do not let it come to the surface as we attach a sense of value to what is created instead of rejoicing in the act of creation itself.

2. A fruitful alliance between the Gospel and art

Every genuine artistic intuition goes beyond what the senses perceive and, reaching beneath reality's surface, strives to interpret its hidden mystery. The intuition itself springs from the depths of the human soul, where the desire to give meaning to one's own life is joined by the fleeting vision of beauty and of the mysterious unity of things. All artists experience the unbridgeable gap which lies between the work of their hands, however successful it may be, and the dazzling perfection of the beauty glimpsed in the ardour of the creative moment: what they manage to express in their painting, their sculpting, their creating is no more than a glimmer of the splendour which flared for a moment before the eyes of their spirit.

I am reminded of the purpose of art in reawakening the faith of the masses across millenia. Before literacy was commonplace across most of the world, art functioned as a medium to express complex tableaus of emotion - as evidenced by the masterpieces in churches, the stunning frescoes, the painstaking effort in laying out vast panels detailing the Passion of Christ. Every creative endeavour bears the mark of the spirit, even if we may not immediately sense it. I find value, truth and beauty in the seemingly secular - all creative forms of expression are an act of co-creation with the Creator.

3. The Creator Spirit and artistic inspiration

Dear artists, you well know that there are many impulses which, either from within or from without, can inspire your talent. Every genuine inspiration, however, contains some tremor of that “breath” with which the Creator Spirit suffused the work of creation from the very beginning. Overseeing the mysterious laws governing the universe, the divine breath of the Creator Spirit reaches out to human genius and stirs its creative power. He touches it with a kind of inner illumination which brings together the sense of the good and the beautiful, and he awakens energies of mind and heart which enable it to conceive an idea and give it form in a work of art. It is right then to speak, even if only analogically, of “moments of grace”, because the human being is able to experience in some way the Absolute who is utterly beyond.

The Spirit Himself is the mysterious art at work, whenever we pick up a brush, type away at our keyboard or compose a song. The works of creation are a "moment of grace", in which we encounter the ineffable God in a personal way. I think of all the times I encountered Him in an art work that appeared on Pinterest, a song shared by a friend or an article. I marvel at the beauty of the strokes, the perfect composition and colour and realise this is no product of mere human effort, but very much inspired by the Spirit Himself.

There is much wisdom to be gleaned from the document and I have only just scratched the surface. I attach a simple Infographic I created that summarises some key points that you might find useful too as you read the document in greater detail, and with prayerfulness.

Here is a link to the document in full: http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/letters/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_23041999_artists.html

Thank you for coming on this journey with me as we delve deeper into the wisdom of these documents as we start to learn how truly it is #relatable!