He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
(Isaiah 53:7)
Can there be beauty in deviant art?
Or does every painting need to be a Thomas Kinkade masterpiece with other-world images of translucent light surrounded by unrealistic abundance and bucolic tranquility? Does every music piece need to be a Handel’s Messiah that reaches heavenward to join in the unending angelic choruses of Hallelujah? Should stone sculptures only be relegated to express anatomical perfection like Michelangelo’s David?
Or is there something to be said for depicting the ugliness of the world as it is?
Yesterday, I got into a discussion about this with some good friends online asking these very questions. Is there any value in being honest about life’s brokenness through artistic mediums? Or should we ignore the evil that lurks in every person’s heart by displaying only beautiful things?
Is it wrong to show evil in all its vivid color?
I think it depends? I do believe there is a time and place for exposing evil and shining a light on the deeds done in darkness. I think honesty is refreshing even if it is shocking, but I also believe we can cross a line when our art delights and glorifies in the evil that is daily destroying us.
In Luke 22-23, God uses dramatic catastrophe to expose evil. Luke describes and compares the final moments of the greatest man who ever lived to an innocent lamb led to the slaughter. Jesus Christ of Nazareth is “crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23) Crucifixion is a hideous form of torture, it was meant to humiliate and crush a man. Jesus’ death is dark, depressing and brutal. This expose’ by Luke is almost too honest – – it is horrifying just how sick the human heart is.
Everywhere you look in these two chapters the shroud of death seeps in, there is not one noble human being surrounding Christ. He is left alone, hated, betrayed, lied to, patronized and abandoned. He is even sold out by a friend who is possessed by Satan himself. The dark angel finally finds the opportune time to murder God.
This is not a nice story at all, it is a blood-bath! Everyone and everything is exposed: Judas is hungry for money, the Pharisees crave power, Satan finally exacts revenge, the disciples want a position of prominence, Peter believes himself to be just as capable as Christ himself in fighting evil only to run away in cowardice. Where is the beauty? Nothing is praiseworthy.
Evil is on display for all to see.
God has a plan: In order to defeat evil, it must first be exposed. Redemption only comes after bondage; resurrection after crucifixion. The cross is meant to be the most brutal story ever told, as Isaiah describes it, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces.” He was beaten, stripped naked, spit upon, mocked and crucified — hung up in bloody agony for all the world to see.
This work of art was God’s masterpiece. (Isaiah 53:10)
In his broken body, Jesus revealed to the world what human hatred looks like. He became sin, his flesh was turned into an artist’s canvas that exposed the blackness of our hearts. Jesus gave mankind free reign to do with him as we pleased, and people delighted in his demise, “Crucify him!” This was ugly, brutal and bloody– but at least God was honest with us.
Catastrophe was God’s chosen way to paint to his glory. While exposing our darkness, God also showcased mercy. We would never know how much God loved us if Jesus didn’t allow himself to become sin. God needed to paint first with the deepest darkest brushstroke of black he could find so we could see just how bright the whiteness of his redemptive work is.
It is our hideousness that exposes his glory.
I watched a movie yesterday that many people would say a pastor has no business watching, “Mad Max: Fury Road.” This violent and dark movie was actually a very beautiful work of art. Max and his fellow heroine, Imperator Furiosa, battled an utterly repulsive apocalyptic warlord in order to rescue a band of innocent women caught up in the clutches of his evil tyranny.
The backdrop of the movie was painted in stark and shocking colors and the evil minions of the tyrannical warlord were depicted in grotesque monstrous forms. But it was on this hopeless canvas where the courage and strength of the heroes were clearly exposed. Redemption is all the more beautiful the uglier and darker the bondage is.
Maybe that is why we need dark art, because we won’t really see just how beautiful God’s grace is until I know how twisted humanity can be?
As I add my final thoughts to this post I notice the sun is now rising on the horizon of a cloudless blue sky. It means that much more because last week had been full of cloudy, nasty, depressing weather. Oh, how I love the brightness of the sun. Would it be as beautiful to me if I spent spring break in Florida?
Maybe darkness does have its place?
