The Artist Must Be Spiritually Uplifted

The artist must be spiritually uplifted.

To be an artist is, by its nature, a spiritual endeavor. Art is taking unseen inspiration and communicating it. It is taking ones personal, interior fascinations and inspirations and expressing them. In order to begin doing this an artist must already be experiencing a life of the unseen. Even if the art is painting something which is directly in view, the important part, the poetry, is the feeling that is communicated in the painting – not the subject itself. So, at the very beginning, the artist is acting as one who has something worthwhile in their inner life.

Second, if an artist is to communicate with anyone, she must have the desire to do so. The best and most effective reason to have this desire is to uplift, to inspire. It will hurt and ultimately fail to do it for any other reason. Because art is a spiritual endeavor, its motivations must also be spiritual or they cannot support the persistence, conviction, generosity, and inspiration that are needed in order actually communicate the life of soul.

How can an artist hope to inspire others if she herself is not inspired? To truly take on the challenges and work of expressing the depth of our life the artist must, of their own personal necessity, take up the work of being a good person. In a world where there are an infinite number of opinions it must be something more than a forceful opinion that makes art. There must be something so simple, so good, that it is universal and attractive. What makes a piece of art attractive? It is some expression that resonates with the soul, coming from the soul and speaking to it. It is some new animal of expression that opens a door for the explorer or comforts the grieving. Something that reminds the soul of home. The artist must have something in order to give something. He must find great value in life before he can share it.

In order to come upon communications like this the artist must be an explorer of himself. She must be interested in her life and search it for clues. She must be open to fascination, or the ideas won’t be there. The artist must be in search of why inspiration in coming to him. He must see a worth in life that cannot be taken away, despite any condition. The artist must have a sense of her value to society. She must see that the ability to share her inner honesty is like a fountain to the soul-starved world.

If art is to speak honestly, hopefully, and inspiringly about our life, then the artist must obviously be honest, hopeful, and inspiring. What is the point of unhopeful art? If art is not hopeful it becomes immediately no more than the private journal of depression. If art is drawing attention to a horrific state of affairs somewhere in the world, it should then leave us with a feeling of love for the oppressed. It should incite us to further virtue, further unity, prayer, and labor. It is one of the greatest abilities of art to inspire compassion, but if art is not prepared to dig in deeply to affirm life, it becomes an enemy of life.

The entire point of a humane art is to uplift. Art must have the capability to deal with any subject matter and leave us with a sense of hope. To take on this task the artist must be spiritually uplifted.