In the main, the arc of culture leans toward truth. Culture is nothing more or less than a reflection of the human condition collectively, and the soul individually. So even in this Post Truth era, those who advance and reflect our moral location, can lead us to the truth. They do it by challenging us to examine our own values and beliefs — to look within our souls.
Culture does not advance along a steady, smooth horizon: there are bursts of innovation and vision from individual pillars: science, technology, theology and art. An advancement in technology, for example, may send out a flare of the new… then over time (sometimes very quickly) the balance of culture assimilates, and the horizon expands.
Art has always been one of the load-bearing members of our cultural architecture. It is the writers, painters, comedians, potters, dancers, actors and musicians who drive our collective search for the truth. Why is that? Because the soul is essentially good. And eternal. While some human pursuits are driven by greed or hatred or fear, or the desire to dominate others, the fundamental work of the soul is truth.
These times are testing humanity, calling on all of us to ask hard questions, macro and micro. The times are challenging us to think in multivariate complexity beyond our craziest dreams. We are asked to model abstraction and consequences in ways that began in the nuclear age, and now touch us individually via machine intelligence. It seems natural to me that overwhelmed individuals might long for simpler, linear answers … for leaders called “daddy”. But ultimately, brutal times call on us to distinguish between good and evil on an individual scale. The work of the artist is to help us find that line in the sand — to paint a picture of the threshold we don’t want our planet to cross. Seeing and understanding that line empowers us. Once we see the truth, we can nudge the arc of culture toward humanity. As out-of-step as the sentiment may sound, it’s not cheap optimism … it is the only choice a soul can make.
I’ve been in a creative block of sorts lately — not because there’s nothing to express, but because there is actually too much to say. This is a period of sorting the pieces and parts of our time, and finding the greater truth worth painting. Luckily I have a real estate adventure to keep me occupied for another week or two. After that, it’s back to the studio for …… I’m not sure what.
