I am Christian but I was raised in a great, big, beautiful, stain-glassed windows Catholic church until I was 13. A few things in my life changed, and I began attending a tiny, cinderblock wall, lovely little Christian church at the end of 7th grade. I first started going to youth group there with a friend of mine and soon my entire family began to attend every Sunday morning. I totally understood what professor Leeper meant when he was talking about the masterpieces of architecture that some Catholic churches are. It seems like the beauty of church would draw people in more than the message they came to receive would. The beauty is seen in the church more than it is in Him. I just found that to be an interesting thought.
"Art questions us. It enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time." I loved this. Art does indeed do all of those things. It made me question a couple of things though. Professor Leeper was talking about how if you were to ask an artist whether they would rather you get to know them by reading a biography of them or getting to know them through their art, they would always choose their art.
This causes me to wonder whether it is the ART that questions and enables us, or the ARTIST that questions and enables us. I can see it from both ways, I'd just love to hear what the rest of you guys think.
I would say the art is the question the artist is asking. When the art is made asking, "What if I put this color in here? Why not add a goat? Where should the sun be?" it is a conversation. It can question and enable. When you stop asking questions is when you stop appreciating. When you cease to be enabled you are made a simple bystander. Art keeps us alive. That's what I think.
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