Life As Art

From the beginning of time, man has been inextricably tied to the physical - what we know as real. We possess within us a deep connection, a bond, which allows us to perceive and understand the physical. This tangible world is a medium through which man can communicate. In his book Grace and Necessity, Rowan Williams goes into detail about this relationship between man and reality. To Williams, communication through the physical is a gift which each individual must experience for themselves. He explains this, saying,

"...the whole notion of sign implies the sacred - the real as good, the good as supremely real, and thus as laying on us an obligation, a binding. If the stuff of the world can be a medium of communication, the exploration of the possible meanings of what is given becomes a listening for something like a gift, the bestowing on us of a share in a reality that is for our flourishing."

As we artists (or poets, or even military strategists, for that matter) shape and develop our forms, we work within our own conviction that the real is good. Each individual who encounters some creation must discover or “listen” for themselves - to receive their own understanding which enriches and encourages their reality. 

Bulls in the Lascaux Caves

Because of this wedding between the material and the imagination, humanity cannot ignore the need to communicate visually. Since the beginning of time, man has been painting, sculpting, and expressing. A brief romp through art history shows us that from the caves of Lascaux to Duchamp, man has found a voice in art. But, then, what is art? Are we limited to that which can be marked on a cave or affixed to a gallery wall? 

Maritain offers a unique perspective with his philosophy that art is simply creating. Art is “not copying, not free-wheeling or expressing an inner selfhood, but producing a material thing.” While Maritain’s view is exhilarating and empowering to the artist - can this concept be pushed further? 

David Jones argues yes. 

As an artist and poet, Jones is familiar with the entwined nature of life and creation. His writing and visual artist work stemed from his time serving in the military during World War I, and his later conversion to Catholicism. This relates strongly to his view on life as art, as described by Williams in Grace and Necessity, 

"Jones implies that the life of 'prudence,' a life lived in a consciously moral context, however exactly understood, is itself an act of gratuitous sign-making; moral behavior is the construction of a life that can be 'read', that reveals something in the world and uncovers mystery."

So then, life becomes art. This new and intriguing concept suggests that behavior becomes a means to reveal the interconnectedness of physical existence. The everyday choices based on individual moral conviction is displayed as a comprehensible creation. And with this comes a great challenge; what will you create with your waking, your breathing - your existence? 

Epiphany by David Jones

Sources
-Grace and Necessity by Rowan Williams-"Jones, David" A Dictionary of Modern and Contemporary Art by Ian Chilvers and John Glaves-Smith. Oxford University Press Inc. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press.
-Wilson, Andrew. "David Jones 1895–1974." Tate. Oxford University Press, Grove Art Online. Web. 13 Oct. 2014.