Christ and the Role of the Artist

by Damian Osborne

I haven’t written a reflective artist letter in a long time. So this morning I woke up naturally at 5:15, the day after Christmas, with the neighbourhood cockerels blaring their insane cacophony at the rising light, and decided to just do it and start.

Also, I will not use A.I. to write this and influence the trajectory of my thinking. This is meant to be a bit like Julia Cameron’s Morning Pages from The Artist’s Way.

This isn’t supposed to be an annoying ‘better-get-saved’ Christian letter. However, on the day after Christmas, my mind is obviously full of thoughts about Christmas itself; about family, relentless shopping and eating and drinking; thoughts about how it feels like Christianity is the only religion where such a holy day has become so removed from the actual religion itself and morphed into a grotesque consumerist frenzy.

I’m thinking about the pagan origins of Christmas; why the kids wear shamanic reindeer horns on their heads in church; why we have fake evergreen conifer trees with fake snow in a hot country like South Africa during the height of Summer.

I’m thinking about the star that guided the Magi and the Summer and Winter Solstices (depending on whichever side of the planet you’re on), wondering if that negates or has any deeper effect on the personal spiritual implications of Christmas for me, since the sun for me has just reached its zenith and from now on, the days will get shorter.

Obviously, I’m thinking about the incarnation of Christ and Jesus’ life and purpose; about the sermon I heard in church yesterday because I was forced to go, as my wife was singing a duet (although the sound engineers in the church were dismal).

And I’m trying to take all my thoughts and reflections that I’ve had this year, trying to remember any epiphanies I may have had, or sudden personal or artistic inspirations, and consider what I’ve achieved, what have I forgotten or accidentally dropped, where I’ve become distracted from my personal goals, and where I’m going.

Why am I still creating art and what is my role as an artist in this screwed up world?

Stuck in paradigms

My wife’s parents are down from Namibia and staying with us for two weeks during the Festive Period. And I must be honest, it’s been extremely trying for the two of us. I’m up to here.

They are quite old now and are set in their ways. I woke up before sunrise just to have a few minutes to myself and to escape their incessant demands. I haven’t done any art or practised a musical instrument since they’ve been here. I hope I can keep it together.

Though my wife and her family are very conservative Christians, I have less solid or simple beliefs. Luckily, I tried to give up arguing or preaching about this stuff years ago.

Debating or discussing openly with Christians about ‘their’ Christianity from different points of view or interpretations is usually a complete waste of time or, at worst, ends up with someone feeling some sort of self-righteous anger, or condescending pity toward the ‘heretic’ (I’ll pray for you).

The same is true of many atheists or agnostics toward those ‘brainwashed religious nuts’ I suppose, although there is less prayer involved and more judgement.

I’m not wasting my time with either of these extremist camps.

We are all surrounded by a particular culture or collective mindset. Zooming out, we are immersed in the global zeitgeist. And so it can be extremely difficult to extract yourself from everything outside of yourself — to examine the many influences in your life and find the most individualistic or truest path for yourself.

I think the cultural and tribal influences affecting the somnolent and zombie-like ignoramuses of the majority of our population in South Africa are really part of the root cause of all our social problems here, but that is a whole other subject and is probably true for all countries.

The light of individuation

I don’t feel like elaborating too much on Jungian-esque ‘individuation’ concepts in this essay because there is a lot of literature out there, although I admit these ideas have influenced my thinking a lot.

I am merely trying to consider my personal role and purpose as an artist, the role of the artist in society, the importance of walking the path of creative aloneness (not sure what else to call it) and how that ties in with such a powerful and individualistic figurehead in our Western society — Jesus Christ.

It would be a bit silly to compare the role of the artist and of Christ from a self-aggrandizing egotistical sense, indirectly comparing myself as an artist with Jesus. No, I’m looking toward this refined and purified example of humanity and individualism as an inspiration.

Jesus is often referred to as the Light. In the beginning, God said, “Let there be light!” Whenever I hear that phrase, in my mind I hear that part from Haydn’s Creation where the choir sings “…let there be ligggghhhhtt… and…there… was…. LIGGGGHHHHTTTT!” Drum-rolls, trumpets and a massive C major chord with lots of tremolo strings!

I see the role of the artist as one who brings light to the world through their art. The creative act itself is akin to God painting the universe into existence through light.

The artist creates entire worlds through imagination. The canvas, the novel, the symphony or the film become a believable, self-contained miniature universe. It is a very powerful and sacred act. It is also one of the things that make us human — making art.

Christ is the Light that dispels the darkness of evil, sin, ignorance and cultural limitations. Christ is also the light of inspiration and guidance for many.

The light that the artist brings may have similar powers. Artists may not understand or may underestimate the influence or effect their art may have on others. I always find it weird that people still admire old paintings of mine that I no longer like or care for.

Though a lot of art today seems so sinister, disturbing, evil or dark, (and really badly painted), art also has the amazing power to heal, inspire and create awareness. It can create affect and feelings of majesty, beauty, perfection, love and strength.

The solitary light of individuation, like the guiding Star of the East, will lead the way to being a better and more authentic artist. Creating drivel for the dumbed-down masses in order to gain popularity is far removed from real art and adds little value to the world.

The voice and ‘message’ of the artist

Christ incarnated to show us a deeper level to the world. He was the midpoint between the inner and outer worlds, between Heaven and Earth. His role was to show the way.

Jesus was also a disrupter of the status quo. He was the kind of character who spoke the truth without cowardice or apology.

Though immersed in and part of the culture, Jesus did not shrink from criticising or rebelling against old modes of thinking. He cared little for ostentation and was not awed by the exalted leaders of the time, whether king, pharisee, or Roman ruler.

The artist may take incentive from this. Instead of creating ‘secondhand’ art that tries to fit in with accepted trends, parameters or tradition, the truly original and authentic artist creates art that is unapologetically true to itself and undiluted in its expression or ‘message’.

The artist creates with pure intention. Quite often, the artwork takes on a subtle life of its own and speaks back to the artist, like incantatory magic.

Some might call this the Holy Spirit or an angel working through you. I like to think of it as tapping into the creative unconscious — this is when you know your work is real. The goosebumps rise on your skin. It really doesn’t matter what the world thinks of your work in those moments.

I get on quite well with my mother-in-law. I asked her what she thought about the Christmas sermon. After complaining about the unnecessary loud modern music (which I agree with), she said she liked the way the pastor spoke.

He spoke without ostentation or too much prevarication. She said she could feel the Holy Spirit in his words because he spoke from his heart and without ego.

This stuck with me because I thought about how I should purify and strengthen my voice as an artist in a similar vein.

The current point of internal friction for me is allowing the waters of my art to flow without the boulders of ego or shyness lying in the way, but I also need to be protective of my inner sacred process.

I normally don’t overly explain my paintings or music to people. For some reason, it makes me very uncomfortable. Explaining it away feels like it devalues it somehow.

Jesus did not reveal the deeper spiritual mysteries that He contained, except to a select few. What was deeply sacred was protected from those who were unable to understand or accept, even among the individual apostles themselves.

Jesus’ life was more than a collection of stories. It was a work of art. He lived the ideal in human form. The life of Jesus has also inspired Western Art and artists for centuries.

I’ve always liked the idea that the true artist cannot separate his own life from his art, and the artist’s life becomes a work of art itself.

Thus, the creative person walks a spiritual path, where the act of creating art is the act of working on one’s own life or inner being.

The role of the artist is to show the way; to inspire and evoke subtle stirrings of the soul in others. Those who seek shall find their own path of individuation through art. Art reveals the self to the self.

As I mentioned, sometimes a work can take on a life of its own. It holds all the latent potential for revealing subtle internal mysteries back to the artist as a mirror. And the act of creating becomes a spiritual act.

When God looked back into the mirror of His Creation, He said, “It is good.”