Rick,
I begin to see George's point.
<<I intentionally omitted literature and poetry because as evocative as they can be, even they reach a threshold where they become inadequate. I find the other forms I included are able to speak with an emotional and spiritual vocabulary that words can't.>>
Do you consider the possibility that words may speak in that emotional and spiritual vocabulary, and you may perhaps not be understanding it? What moves one may not move another. I have a friend, an elderly man from India, who is deeply devoted to the study and performance of Indian and Arabic music. Very few Westerners can begin to comprehend what he derives from this music; even fewer can appreciate the full breadth of emotion and spirituality it is intended to convey. Is his music "inadequate" because some listeners cannot understand it?
A very similar question: because a God-figure is an essential element in your spirituality, must it be an essential element in all spirituality?
I do know many who are considered artists; I've been accused of being one myself. My own definition of artistry is somewhat exclusive, and somewhat medieval. I feel that creative people in any discipline pass through stages: apprentice, journeyman craftsman, master craftsman. The jump from master craftsman (OK, ye politically-correct ones, master caftsPERSON) to artist is a rare and difficult one which very few ever achieve. I also feel that there is nothing at all wrong with being an honest craftsman.
I once aspired to artistry; now I'm more concerned with supporting a family - the literary craft has never paid well; in an illiterate age it pays less well than ever. When I get the second kid through college I may devote the declining years to a quest for artistry. I may also just grow a large garden, make music with some friends, and smoke a pipe - you can ask Alex what I'll put in it. Not sure which would be more rewarding, though I expect I will by the time I get there.
I would venture to say that a necessary step in proceeding from craft to art is the shedding of pretension. Painful process, I'd guess, though I have yet to try it. Obviously.
Steve |
