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'Evolution of Spirituality'
<< Part I . Part II
An artist is an aesthetically attuned person who develops the ability to create pattern and meaning which communicate to others and affect others. But artistic creation is not just about creating beauty to look at. It is about engaging the viewer - getting the viewer to interact with the artwork. It is the interaction of the audience with the art that makes the piece a success or a failure.
This mural represents an enormous effort by Gobin to bring our parish in touch with our artistic and spiritual selves. He has labored for almost a year bringing thought and reflection and feeling to bear. He has worked to give us points of reference in our collective past which can serve as springboards for discussion and thought. He has engaged us as viewers from early on and gotten us to interact with the artwork and allowed this interaction to enrich the piece itself. In this way, the mural is already successful art.
Our interaction with this artwork will not stop here but is just beginning. We will be interacting with the mural for a long time to come. There are so many symbols and interesting details, each of which can be explored and discussed. Each of which can lead to discovery of some different aspect of our human spiritual heritage.
I believe this piece has importance well beyond this parish. I think in time, a much larger community will be affected by this work. For the mural speaks volumes about where we collectively have come from and shows us the nature of the spiritual task ahead. We must find our human and spiritual common ground regardless of the religion we were born into or currently adhere to. We must make the transition to global awareness and learn to live together. One path toward this goal is through our parish community - a community with whom we can discuss, reflect, and interact. We can directly participate in each others development. We can spread our participation wider through Unitarian Universalism as a larger entity. Our religion works to find themes which unite people in the world across the distinctions of religion and ideology.
I have spoken about the process through which this mural came to be, but it is important to note that this very process as well as the resultant art work, exemplify many Unitarian Universalist and First Parish ideals. Gobin's project has led our parish on a quest for spiritual understanding. His search has given us a framework of ideas to react to, and to expand upon.
According to Gobin, the idea for this project came about in conjunction with the formation of our church's mission statement. It is evident that this mural and this project are a major movement toward living our mission. Certainly the work 'Builds on our heritage and bequeaths it to the future.' It has forced us to confront our diversity, to discuss through our differences and, I think, has made us stronger. It has also led us to reach out to the world beyond our church, to let them know about the project. But more importantly, the ideas embodied in the mural lead our minds and will lead our children's minds out beyond the bound of our church, and our locale, to a broader spiritual heritage and to a community of the world.
Thank you Gobin.
_________________
Artist and Parish
| A grand idea. A wide canvas With broad brush I cast my vision to the wall Not so sure of every part Yet I fill the space with images And share with you my first attempt We view your work and find virtue and find fault Strong symbols bring strong reactions Can we tell you our reactions? Should we say what we don't like? We must - for we will live with what results! I am hurt by your reactions! I must be strong. I must be open. But it is hard to accept criticism. I will write to you and tell you That I need your words - I need your ideas. This is your wall to look upon, And will be the backdrop to your thoughts, discussions, and even to your square dances. Your openness is appreciated! And we like your changes! But the tone is too dreary Can you add X and Y and Z? When can people see & respond? Come to my studio This is a work in progress I will do more research. I will repaint everything This is still a sketch and in transition. Do I have your approval to move ahead? Will you accept my work on your wall? This is nice! We can accept this with just a few changes. When can you show it to more people? We are a chosen few, Many more must have their say! I want more people to see this, I want your ideas and your input. But you must know that it is hard and what you see will change! Why must it change? Can you bring that image back? Every time we see it - it is different. What have we approved by saying yes? Will we like it in the end? You have approved my attempt to ask questions and to cast images that will make you think. You should not expect art to be easy Difficult images and symbols abound in our spiritual evolution. |
But we must live beneath this vision. Don't be too hard on us. We want affirmation, a balance with nature, And not to carry crosses from our past. I will bring my work to show you Children and Adults And speak with you about it And listen to you child and adult. And we will think together about the questions And talk together about the answers And shake our heads about the problems And I will return to the studio To cast and recast symbols to the sky. We like the changes! The gloom is gone & the sun shines. Our symbols are there - But all the people are white. And they are mostly men. And where is this religion or that? And to what future does that finger point? I can finally see it all together! I will put the work in place and finish it there! We will see it as it grows and not wonder. But you are old and the scaffold is high We are worried that you might be hurt. You are right. And change comes after change. Many discussions & many ideas. The people become people of the world. And the world becomes the focus of our future. Whimsy remains But hard issues that are non-essential must go. We speak each with our own voice There are some among us who oppose any art in the church There are some among us who favor a different style There are many among us who like this work as a whole, but question some parts There are some among us who like it without reservation We all appreciate the effort, imagination and thought to bring us this work. That is as it should be. One can not hope for more. To question the parts is to discover the whole. May this work serve as a basis for discussion, a focus for inquiry, a basis for discovery. Each of you who has engaged in the discussion critiqued, praised or suggested changes has had your creative spirit touched. Each of you has helped to create this work. By Peter N. Baird (with inspiration from many) |
