A Unique Disclosure

The following is an excerpt of an email sent from Art to Will on 12 July 2014.

St. Pope John Paul II in 1999

I've been wading into John Paul II's "Letter to Artists" (1999) and am pleasantly surprised so far. I'd like us to meditate on this a little in our correspondance if you're game.

In particular, I'm looking at the following paragraphs:

The special vocation of the artist:

Not all are called to be artists in the specific sense of the term. Yet, as Genesis has it, all men and women are entrusted with the task of crafting their own life: in a certain sense, they are to make of it a work of art, a masterpiece. 

It is important to recognize the distinction, but also the connection, between these two aspects of human activity. The distinction is clear. It is one thing for human beings to be the authors of their own acts, with responsibility for their moral value; it is another to be an artist, able, that is, to respond to the demands of art and faithfully to accept art's specific dictates. This is what makes the artist capable of producing objects, but it says nothing as yet of his moral character. We are speaking not of moulding oneself, of forming one's own personality, but simply of actualizing one's productive capacities, giving aesthetic form to ideas conceived in the mind.

The distinction between the moral and artistic aspects is fundamental, but no less important is the connection between them. Each conditions the other in a profound way. In producing a work, artists express themselves to the point where their work becomes a unique disclosure of their own being, of what they are and of how they are what they are. And there are endless examples of this in human history. In shaping a masterpiece, the artist not only summons his work into being, but also in some way reveals his own personality by means of it. For him art offers both a new dimension and an exceptional mode of expression for his spiritual growth. Through his works, the artist speaks to others and communicates with them. The history of art, therefore, is not only a story of works produced but also a story of men and women. Works of art speak of their authors; they enable us to know their inner life...[italics are mine]

I think this passage is so germane to our project, seeing as we are so closely related to our creations. And these creations of ours have been, at different points, unredeemed or at least not very far advanced along the path of moral perfection. As we get further along in this project--whether it really is a project or not--I'm increasingly aware how my narrative choices are "unique disclosures" of my own being, of what I am and of how I am what I am.

For instance, when my back is against the wall with blogging and I can't always micromanage some Wordsworthian "emotion recollected in tranquility" due to the time crunch, I come up with ideas that reveal my personality and the state of my soul.

One example is how I got so wound up recently about how tragedy comes closest to touching on the truths of the faith.

Another example is a recent idea I've had, which I may or may not do, called "Basement Diaries." The idea is I will bring a camera down with me into the basement with all the lights out and try to find my way around while taking a video of me (no picture because it's pitch black) reflecting on various topics related to darkness, being underground, coal, fossil fuels in general, Hell, the project, the labyrinth, etc. I would upload this to YouTube and let Google mess up the transcription, as usual. Then post the video and its transcription.

The idea is take it or leave it, but I think about what it means that I had this kind of disturbing idea (and not some holier one). Why does it resonate with me right now? What does it say about the state of my soul?

I'm not interested in answering those questions in a psychoanalytical way, but I am getting a sense of what John Paul means by a unique disclosure of one's own being. You can't produce something other than what you are. If you are further along the path toward moral perfection than I am, that will come out in your artistic leanings. In some ways, it wouldn't be surprising to see a consummate artist uniquely reveal the destination of his soul in his last works. He would not be able to disclose anything but that truth.

Do the landscapes and settings and narrative we have created uniquely disclose the elements of temptation, damnation, sanctification, salvation that hem us in and define our own inner state--and maybe even more so than your average artistic work due to the highly self-referential aspect we have embraced?

It reminds me of a statement of C.S. Lewis (which I can't find) about how, in certain moments, you can't pretend to be anything other than you are. We may have many moments where we have the time or energy to muster an "appropriate" response--in our case, "What Would Jesus Do?" But in moments of sudden distress or pain, we can't reveal anything but the true state of our soul.

A saint will continue to love God and neighbor with all his heart, mind, and strength; a professed Christian who has a private Hell opening up inside of him will start exhibiting that somehow. I seem to remember another statement of Chesterton (which I also can't find) about how our lives all give us an opportunity to "leap past Hell."

All of us, in other words, have a gaping abyss somewhere in the landscape of our lives.

And like Chekhov's gun, this abyss isn't superfluous to the plot! I wouldn't say it's there for a God-given reason exactly, although the gift of free will does necessitate it as an option. And we are either going to have to leap into it or leap past it.  Admittedly, that sounds way more dramatic than our current quotidian existence with its blended, blurry options, but God makes that moment possible for each one of us, allowing us to make a clear-eyed, fundamental choice that will persist for all eternity.

So you may have something to say about the paragraphs I excerpted; or maybe you read more of it and find something else. I really see this vision as needing to be central to our project since it's a letter explicitly addressed to artists in the postmodern age! What is the Holy Spirit telling us through this message? What questions of ours does it answer?