Who is the Fairest of them All?

An old German fairy tale by the brothers Grimm reads "Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the Fairest of them all?" The wicked step-mother of Snow White would pose this question to her magical mirror, but one day it told her something she did not wish to hear: her step daughter had grown into a beautiful little girl. The wicked step-mother responded by ordering Snow White's death.

Artistry has a way of being our mirror...music, literature, film & games. What man has contrived in his mind has become the stuff of art for centuries; that that era is changing is an interesting subject for further study and debate, but I will assert here as uncontroversial that man's ideology, his religion, his philosophy has constantly borne itself out in the artistic expressions (or reactions) of humanity.

I ask you to consider the idea that if a piece of music or art seems terrible to you there could be a multitude of reasons, but it could be possible that it is just bad art masquerading as good art. That is to say, it is ugly, degenerate, false, evil and/or immoral, and not beautiful.

Art that has burdened itself with the ideological death of man has the same characteristic sound and appearance of despair. The profanity, immorality and outright anti-God rebellion of a great deal of modern artistry reflects this spiritual state of death and defeat.

But before we conduct a book burning (see my first post), we should pause and think a little further. Hitler called much modern art "degenerate"; he was attempting to make modern art into a racial issue. But individuals who painted dadaism or cubism were not somehow physically inferior or incapable of seeing the 'beautiful' or the proper order of the structured world.

There is always a good measure of truth in the lie. The world that Hitler wanted to create was a tunnel vision of the flesh. It could only see beauty in the outward manifestation. Hitler condemned works of art that celebrated things (acts, attitudes, lifestyles) that we should rightly condemn as truly "degenerate", but fear, racism, and the aim of social control was Hitler's agenda. I won't go ahead and presume to tell you what art is and is not good. That would be to miss the boat again.

The problem with truly "degenerate" art is that despair and the sin of the human condition is not represented by images, but by the human thoughts and attitudes that created them; that is, the sin that created them. The demonic power of degenerate art (what I would call "BAD" art) is its propensity to pass on that evil to the receiver.

I do not believe that any picture, story or sound is inherently evil. The physical aspects of smashing a hammer into a man's skull or having a homoerotic adventure are about as evil as having afternoon tea. It is human blindness and rebellion which have the potential to make even the most innocuous of activities into crimes against God.

Surprise! Aunt Maud, that gossiping old biddie at church every Sunday is every bit as bad and worse than the stripper, the drug dealer and the murderer. In this life, we have to establish the guilty act or the actus reus, as well as the guilty mind (mens rea) in order to charge someone with a crime. But before God, and before him alone, the mens rea is enough to die for. (Matt 5:28)

Where does that leave us? The question is, where does your artistry leave you? Friedrich Schiller (1759-1805) said we're all in need of different kinds of beauty. (I'll let you read On the Aesthetic Education of Man) I think he's right about that part. What does the artistry you choose to enjoy do with your heart, mind and soul? Don't simply avoid the degenerate, add the regenerate.

Is your art a mirror or a corruptor? First ask yourself if it is only you. "A crooked mind finds no good, and he who is perverted in his language falls into evil." (Prov 17:20). Sadly, we're all like this sometimes, even in the most innocent of circumstances. But if your art communicates something that explicitly motivates, encourages, implies, celebrates or otherwise leads you to do or think evil, maybe its time to throw away that Justin Bieber album. Does the art change you for the better, motivate you to do good or does it dismantle you?

When Snow White finally did wake up and make her comeback, the evil queen got a rather artistic end for her vanity. This should send a powerful message to our youth because yes, she died doing that vile act of dancing with piping hot iron shoes! So there. These days I don't think you'll die dancing, though I'm personally amazed that while doing so more don't get pregnant.

I'm not here to choose your art. I won't burn your books, movies, games or porno mags; but Jesus Christ is coming again to separate the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the filthy...and the wheat from the chaff. Don't let the page or note dictate to your heart but rather inspire it.

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."
~Philippians 4:8~