How Do We Create the Next Renaissance?
How do we differentiate between parasites and struggling artists? How do we fund struggling artists? How do we free artists to create?
Our current mental health crisis may have at its roots our disregard for beauty. To counter the problems we face, artists must portray the ineffable in their creations. Beauty guides and teaches although “teach” is not the right word. Instead, beauty enables us to recall things we already know that are buried deep within. This “recalling,” or recognition, is a Way of learning. Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, we discover the knowledge is there all along and fulfills our deepest desires.
Beauty, then, depicts something that calls forth a longing or a feeling of nostalgia that causes us to recognize the true. A work of art is something more real than what it portrays, reviving that which was lost. Perhaps we have lost peace and contentment. Perhaps we have lost the ability to hear a stir to action. Perhaps we have lost the reason for living. Perhaps we have lost the Ineffable.
The New Renaissance would be a return to the beautiful and all that entails. The artists create that which leads all souls to peer upward, if not in a search for God, at least in search of the summum bonum. The artists who give us reasons to peer upward need encouragement to kindle a New Renaissance.
To hand out money indiscriminately to struggling artists may not be the Way. Why? Money corrupts. Absolute (i.e., too much) money corrupts absolutely. Yes, I know that we usually say “power,” but money, in today’s capitalistic consumerism market, is power. Furthermore, money attracts the parasites.1 When money is added to the mix, commercialization is inevitable.
Commercial art sometimes transcends but often does not reveal the summum bonum. It is made to appeal to the masses, to the mob mentality, to the wants of the multitude. The mob is fickle and often unpredictable. This fickleness leads artists astray because they seldom can please the crowd and their own souls. To cater to the crowd prostitutes their art.
On the other hand, this does not mean a true artist cannot appeal to the masses. While commercial art can sometimes transcend, transcendent art can sometimes be successful. However, true transcendent artists must be wary. If their transcendent art becomes popular, the money that rolls in may corrupt them and their art. If they have enough fortitude to stay true to their vision the multitude often turns against them. Attacks and attempts at cancellation are common.
Remember the mob is fickle and is always seeking diversion from the difficulties of life. They fall for the next big thing, the shiniest object that catches their attention, whether or not it satisfies their souls.2 Here’s the thing:
The multitude does not understand what will make their lives better until they see it and recognition dawns. The summum bonum is not easily recognized.
We see this from artists in the past. It often takes years before their art is recognized as great and soul satisfying. If an artist is attacked by the mob, before his work is recognized as true art, he will have difficulty staying true to his vision, or if he does, he often must retreat from the world to “ground” himself again. Retreating may be for years or perhaps forever. After I had written this and was about to post, I read All Bad Music Will Eventually Disappear, in which Ted Gioia argues that critics do not have to attack bad music, because it disappears on its own. On the other hand, it may take seventy to eighty years for good music to be recognized. This is true in all artistic spheres. Cream eventually rises to the top, but it often takes time.
Unfortunately, not all good art survives because it sometimes is buried beneath the avalanche of the mediocre— “good (and even great) artists often need a helping hand if their work is to survive,” he notes. “Goodness is more fragile and needs our support.” Critics who desire to bring the good into being will heed his words. They must take on the mantle of helping the New Renaissance happen, not by attacking the bad, but by nourishing the good.
Artists must be careful to listen to the right voices. Furthermore, they must be taught to be careful. In my own case, I was naive when I attended a Christian Conference for writers twelve years ago. I had a false belief that these writers were true artists, and that the publishers, editors, and agents were there to uplift the good. No, it was the mammon they sought, not the good.3
God, our summum bonum, sends His Holy Spirit to guide us, and our focus should be upward. The Christian (is that word even applicable here?) Conference focused, instead, on numbers, on mammon, and not on God. I tried for a while to follow their path, the path I thought was holy but was the world’s path, and I quickly burned out. It has taken me a while to sort through why that path was not the Way. And note that I am not saying that I have found the Way, but I continue my search and am still learning. Here are some false things I have discovered in my search for the summum bonum:
The world (even if disguised as “Christian”) says to labor hard and then rest. The summum bonum says to rest to labor.
The world says to hurry to produce more. The summum bonum says to slow down to produce more and better work.
The world says time is running out. The summum bonum says time is an illusion.
The world says to focus on what our audience, i.e. the “mob,” wants. The summum bonum says to focus on the work.
The world says to serve others and meet their desires. The summum bonum says to produce that which is worthy to be served.4
We can see these in play if we think about cooking a meal for our family. If we dive right into the cooking after a long day of work, without taking the time to rest for a bit, we will be so exhausted that we cannot enjoy cooking the meal or even eating the meal with our family. When we rest, we have time to plan what we want to cook. To rush the process might mean to serve undercooked (or sometimes overcooked if we cook on high) food. If we think time is running out, and this is true even for those who have the desire to cook, we become harried. This happens too, if our goal is to cater to the needs of our family. Our family may desire unhealthy alternatives, like processed chicken nuggets, instead of nutritious foods. Trying to satisfy all needs results in burnout. Too many choices exhaust us. We must learn to limit our meals to those we love to cook and that are delicious.5 Healthy, delicious meals that the entire family can enjoy together should be our goal. The way most of us prepare meals is not the Way.
To cook a delicious, healthy meal for our families, we must be rested and take the time to think and plan. While considering the likes and tastes of our family, we, the cooks, must make the decisions about the healthiest and tastiest alternatives. We must follow our own “souls” to cook a meal worthy to be served. When we begin the cooking, we must be present and enjoy the process, not rushing and not stressing. In this Way, we cook meals that satisfies our own desires to benefit our families. The end result is that our families are happier and better nourished.
The New Renaissance is created the same Way. Artists slow down, take their time, create in flow, not stress, rest as needed to recoup and recalibrate, ignore the “mob” mentality, and produce something worthy to be called art. To do these things, or to allow the artists to do these things, first requires a change in attitude. Societies must allow artists to work as long as needed without pressure. It took almost two centuries to build the Notre Dame.6 Do modern people have this kind of patience?
Artists have been devalued in our modern and postmodern world. Instead, we have elevated those who produce quickly, even if the end result is of poor quality. We must learn to value and elevate those who are “true” artists, not those who spit out inferior copies. “Deadlines” should give us pause. “Dead” is what we become when we succumb to the pressures of the world. Artists become zombies who can’t feel and can’t think clearly and become burned out and disillusioned. Deadlines often result in less productivity. Mental blocks become common as we force ourselves to produce something that our souls recognize as inferior.
Companies7 need to learn that this is bad for society and, ultimately, bad for them. If attitudes change, companies will become a source for good, for a revival, for the New Renaissance. And I will say more about how that would work in a bit. Companies must rethink their motives—do they work for financial gain or for the betterment of the world?
We, the consumers, can impact the behavior of the company (whether or not we can reach their souls is another matter). With information at our fingertips, we can find out which companies care only for their bottom line, and which are interested in actually helping customers thrive. This is when the “mob” mentality could be put to good use. Pressure can come to bear on those who are barriers to the New Renaissance. We seek out companies whose policies are helping, not hurting. Companies then create a spirit of cooperation, not competition. Note that the cooperative spirit would be shared by all—the artist, the mediator (who I will discuss below), the companies, and even individual benefactors who can help bring the innovations to life.
Christians should be leading the Way to a new Renaissance. All that I’ve mentioned are biblical, but many churches fail to fully understand these. Take the desire for recognition for instance. Some Christians equate this with pride. Recognition is not pride but, instead, is connection. Artists wish to share what they’ve created so that all can take pleasure in it. Think how much more enjoyable it is when we share the meals we have cooked instead of eating alone.
Writing, painting, crafts, architecture, music, etc. are all ways we seek connection. It’s difficult for an artist to continue creation without connections being made. This does not mean the world or companies or individuals or fellow artists or churches must agree with creators. Artists need words of encouragement to let them know their creations are being seen and the efforts they make are appreciated—whether we fully understand their work or not. Struggling artists, who may be doing the greatest work, need to be fully supported by all. If not, society loses out.
Two people who seldom received encouragement and were misunderstood immediately come to mind—Vincent Van Gogh and Zora Neale Hurston. They both struggled financially and died in poverty although both are recognized today as true artists. Fortunately, Van Gogh’s brother helped support him as he pursued his passion. Hurston also had patrons who helped (and perhaps hindered?) her work.
But how many artists struggle alone? What do we do to help them? This is often difficult to know because our assumptions and presumptions often blind us to true beauty, and we reject them before we fully understand them. The trick is to learn to discern artists, whether we recognize the value of their art or not. How do we recognize true artists?
True artists have vision, passion, and vocation. Let’s think about what these mean.
Vision begins in the mind. Vision is a strong idea that the artist wishes to manifest.
Passion begins in the body. This is the driving force of creation and results in work produced.
Vocation begins in the soul. This is the strong sense that the creative work is one’s calling and gives the artist great satisfaction.
When we see someone with all three, we must support them. Artists will often appear different, mystical, and loners. So, how do we learn to recognize them in our hyper-rational world? It begins in the homes, with the parents. Parents must allow their children freedom to explore the world and to find their own vision, passion, and vocation. Forcing sensitive artists to fit into our rational world will often destroy their creative spirit. All artists should be seen and given the respect and encouragement needed. Until the artists learn to have faith in their own ability, family and friends must provide that faith, through loyalty. They have to bear witness to their friends or family members and share the artist’s vision, passion, and vocation, whether or not they understand it.
Even family and friends can’t always get it right. Spammers, scammers, and other parasites will invade the creative sphere. We need to learn to differentiate between parasitic behavior and true creation. But be careful. The thing is that artists may sometimes appear to be parasites instead of the creative forces they are. And just because some are parasites does not mean we destroy the host, i.e., the support for all creative endeavors. Get rid of the parasites and keep the artists who are true.
Why is it difficult to recognize parasites? What artists need and what parasites exploit are often confused. Let’s look at some examples.
Artists need rest. Parasites refuse to work.
Artists need time for reflection. Parasites often procrastinate.
Artists need community and cooperation. Parasites depend on others to supply their needs.
Artists need recognition. Parasites crave an audience.
The characteristics of parasites may be incorrectly attributed to true artists. This is why we need the family and friends who can vouch for them.
Once the family and friends vouch for the artist, what then? More helpers are needed. What do I mean by helpers? Mediators. These would be the go-between who connect the artistic visions with the companies and institutes that can bring the visions to life.
Very rarely do we find a true artist who enjoys the nuts and bolts of bringing their creation to the public’s view. This can become the niche for those with an interest in art but who have more of an organizational inclination. These mediators bring the artists’ work to the attention of the companies or to the public to gain patrons or benefactors.
And yes, we have similar people in our world we call agents. The problem with agents is that they get paid by the artists and feed on them. Mediators would be funded by companies or individuals. If companies begin caring about customers instead of preying on them, this becomes doable.
How do we connect mediators with artists? The mediators would be hired to scout in communities, similar to the way sports scouts do today. They would be similar to headhunters but would specifically search for creators to develop new ideas.
Thus, the New Renaissance would begin within families, move out to friends, perhaps churches, who recognize creative individuals and encourage them. And then mediators would go into communities and match the developing creators with businesses. The business, with the betterment of the world as its objective, will fund these creators, whether or not the creators boost the bottom line of the company. They will recognize that artists need time and space to create. And they encourage that and give creators the means and time to develop their talents and their creations, not for profit but for something more—the New Renaissance, the new Way of life in which people thrive.
Companies, mediators, individuals, families, and communities must help artists create and, moreover, must compensate even the misunderstood artists, the Van Goghs and Hurstons of the world. We “hold space” for struggling artists in anticipation of their work benefitting the future. Companies that truly wish to create a better society will have a niche for those artists whose work is not yet viable. Why? Because they care about the future and recognize the potential is there for the betterment of society, and this includes the betterment of the companies.
When companies forget about making a killing (once again a word that should give us pause), and instead, think about what will bring more life, then the arts will flourish.
Interesting, the word “renaissance” means a new birth. The creation of a better world, one filled with beauty, should be the goal of the Christian, the one who has been “born again,” who has experienced the “new birth.”
Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about copyright. (No, I’m not changing the subject. Hold tight.) So much information is now at our fingertips and so much is misinformation or disinformation that it’s difficult to know where some quotes originate from. Authors are finding it increasingly difficult to protect their work—maybe impossible. At some point, perhaps we should just say that copyright is no longer working. The walls are falling. How do we escape the rubble? If there’s no escape, perhaps we need to embrace the fallen walls.
Something interesting happened with the Animal Crossing New Horizon game (and again, no, I’m not changing the subject). Thirteen million copies of the game were sold in the first six weeks. Its release in 2020 coincided with the Pandemic which undoubtedly contributed to its success, but the game would have been popular, nonetheless. The physical aspects of the island, the player’s home, and even the player’s clothing can be designed by the player. My grandkids introduced me to the game, and I was hooked. I have played many hours. The interesting thing is that some of the players hacked the game and created Treasure Islands to give away free furniture, clothing, DIY cards, plants, materials … pretty much everything needed to create beauty. And players ran with it, cooperating and sharing with one another. I don’t know if Nintendo attempted to corral this illegal behavior or not.8 They made so much money on the game that I assume they shrugged their shoulders and allowed the behavior. The hackers used their ability, their time, and even their strength and energy to provide others the things needed to create.
Here is one example of the beauty being created. Thousands of examples can be found on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Reddit, and other sites.
So, that’s well and good for a game, but how do we translate that to real life? Here are a few ideas. Those who wish would share their work freely. We remove barriers (such as copyright) that hinder growth. I know this idea is controversial—and that’s because we are still thinking in terms of mammon instead of the summum bonum. As I noted, copyright is not protecting our work now. To try to protect our work is a lot like playing the game of Whac-a-mole—only with more moles than anyone can possibly whack. That which is given away cannot be stolen. Without worry about copyright, we can freely share, and others can build upon it. The same goes for patents and other ways that once protected creatives. Applying for a patent sounds like a good idea. However, some companies buy patents to stop competition, not to improve their products. Also, they often buy other companies, not to expand but to stop the competition. This is why we need to stop competing and embrace cooperation.
Cooperating means to recognize when someone is working to create something worthwhile and to support them. As Jesus said,
Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip for your journey, neither two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat. ~Matthew 10:10
This is applicable to the “workman” under consideration, the artists who wish to create the New Renaissance. They must not worry about money but must trust that they will be supported and helped financially. I would call this living in community where all—business, individuals, customers, churches, etc.—have the best interest of the individuals within the community as their goal and will give financial means to help artists. Another name for this is the Way.
Is society ready to cooperate instead of competing? Are we ready to encourage and enhance growth instead of stopping it? It’s time to see a better Way and usher in the New Renaissance.
Let’s summarize:
Recognize true artists. These are the ones who have vision, passion, and vocation. Their work is a mind, body, and soul endeavor. Often, if not always, these are souls who feel deeply. These people need to be cherished, not despised.
Companies, corporations, and individuals who wish to encourage creativity hire mediators who serve as the bridge between the artists’ creations and the organizational and structural work involved in building. Mediators and artists receive compensation for their work and may also share in the profits of the company.
Companies, corporations, and individuals will also provide compensation for artists who have not yet created something the “mob” deems valuable. All artists who have vision, passion, and vocation must be given an opportunity to create, whether or not society understands the vision. Critics can be part of those who shed light on these overlooked creators.9
Family, church, and community begin the process by having faith in the artists in their families. Artists must be given time, rest, encouragement, and connection to reach their full potential.
The goal of all involved must be the betterment of society, not profit.
All must learn the spirit of cooperation, not the spirit of competition.10
All barriers (perhaps including copyright and patents) should be removed. Work builds on the work of others. If we wish to truly create a new society, one of beauty, peace, and love, then we share freely. However, those who take other’s work and claim it as their own are not cooperating and need to receive the consequences of their actions.
In the New Renaissance, all must learn the three transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Truth is living in sync with those things that bring about beauty and goodness. Truth begins in the mind and births the correct vision.
Goodness is the result of living truth and provides us with meaningful lives. Goodness is bringing truth into existence by our hands (our body). This is the birth by passion.
Beauty arises when we discover truth, practice goodness, and feel it in our souls. This is the recognition of the summum bonum and is the new birth, the renaissance, and is our vocation.
These three are throughout scripture and are woven into the fabric of the life of Christ. A New Renaissance is, at its core, heaven descending to earth. It is the kingdom of Christ being made manifest.
Christians should reject the world and lead the Way. Repentance is needed. What is repentance? To change the mind. Our minds must reject the hyper-rational focus on profits that has led us to the cliff. And, yes, this has invaded our churches where the focus is on stats instead of on souls. Our minds must reject the pervasive consumerism mentality that has invaded us. Instead of the goodness of God—the manna from heaven—we discover the worms in the manna that are the result of our own actions.
Once we change our minds, then we begin working with others. Perhaps we work as artists, perhaps as mediators, perhaps as CEOs of corporations. Cooperation, not competition, is needed in all areas.
Within our souls we will discover those things we already know. Deep within, we will recognize true beauty, the beauty of the fullness of God. The summum bonum.
The New Renaissance is the oneness, the unity, of all mankind. It’s the new heaven and the new earth. May it come quickly.
Amen.
This post is in response to How do we create the next Renaissance, the writing prompt on Elle Griffin’s Substack, The Elysian.
See my post, The Worms in the Manna.
I know of several movies that transcended and then fell prey to commercialization in their franchises. This is also true of musicians who transcend and then cannot remain true to themselves. I may write about these at a later date.
I did meet a couple of writers who attempted to stay true to their art. Overall, it was disappointing to see the focus on money instead of true art.
Many of these principles are found throughout Psalms and in the words of Christ.
Need I say it’s okay to venture forth into new territory when we have the time and energy? But we must be careful. Following too many creative pursuits can be disastrous. Constraints are needed.
Notre Dame Cathedral: What It Took to Build Her | HowStuffWorks
By “companies,” I mean any corporation or entity that have a hand in bringing creations to life. My caveat is to exclude government because we have seen failure in those who have tied the betterment of society by introducing stringent rules and regulations. Parasites become even a greater problem in big government.
I assume it is illegal.
As Ted Gioia writes of in his post, awards must begin to go to true artists, not those who “tickle the ears” of the mob (even if the mob is the committee selecting recipients).
I’ve written of this before. Competition drives us to attack, sacrifice (kill), and subjugate others. Our goal should be to inspire, conceive, and free.