lasting

Art that lasts. Today artists often opt for the flash, the bizarre, the shocking, the new, neo, avant-guard. Not that there's anything wrong with that. But I venture that it might be the easy way out. rather than mastering a craft, being attentive to a medium, being patient and mindful, artists go for the one-shot message. One can view, understand, and move on from their art in a matter of minutes, and nothing in these peices transcends a certain political or artistic moment in history. I can't claim that my art will ever transcend anything, but I wonder if it's better to aspire to the artistic achievements of the likes of J S Bach, whose layers of symbolic and religious meaning may never be exhausted. Painters used to make paintings that way too. For God. If people don't get it, is it worth putting it in there? How many listeners of Bach hear that he has created the shape of a cross with the notes on the page? Is there any point in making art that no one sees? Or is there validity to making paintings only God will see? I'm not so sure if art can fully glorify God if it isn't somehow expressed, enjoyed, experienced. Because if God needed paintings for God's own enjoyment, I'm sure God could make them. Or is my private song to God any less pleasing to God? No, so in that sense my private painting isn't either. Besides, Bach didn't just make a private jesture, he made music to be sung and heard all over the world. Anyway, don't get enticed by the quick fix in art. Aim to make something that lasts.