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This portion of Grace & Necessity focuses on the work and thoughts of Eric Gill, a multifaceted artist from the 20th century who was a huge influence in the Arts and Crafts Movement.
A little bit about Eric Gill:
- Lived Feburary 1882-November 1940
- Studied at Chichester Technical and Art School, Westminster Technical Institute, and
- Fluent in many art forms, including but not limited to, sculpture, typeface design, stone-cutting, and printmaking.
- Catholic and Pacifist with a controversial personal life
- Known for his very erotic artwork
- Named Royal Designer for Industry, an award of high acclaim given to designers by the Royal Society of Arts
Some of his best known artwork:
Mother & Child- His first publicly acclaimed print
Eve
Now for Eric Gill's thoughts on art:
There were many interesting quotes, new terms, and ideas that I took away from this portion of the book, a lot of which I will share with you below. However, my biggest takeaway was the conversation about art and prudence. The that God will make beautiful whatever it is that we do, if we do what comes natural to us and do it with passion. When the leaves turn colors in the fall and when the spider weaves his web, they don't think,"This is going to be awesome" or "People are going to stop and stare for day", they just do what comes natural to them, and we should follow in their example.
New Words/Ideas:
Prudence: Good judgement and wisdom
Utilitarianism: the doctrine that an action is right insofar as it promotes happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of conduct.
Transubstantiation: the change whereby, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely as by a sign or a figure, but also in actual reality the body and blood of Christ.
*As it relates to art: The idea that "the whole active presence of the object is being re-presented by the artist- not simply the reproduction of aspects of its appearance." (Williams 62)
Other interesting quotes:
"Art is skill... a habit nurtured by practical apprenticeship which develops a natural capacity; we do not need any doctrine of mysterious giftings, spiritual genius, in an artists. The truest art is anonymous; emotions are never the ground of artistic work, only some of the consequences..." (Williams 47)
- This quote I was rather bothered by. Although I understand that art is a developed skill, a learned expertise, I also believe that there is a great sense of spirituality involved. I think that Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John were very much artists inspired by God. I also believe that many of the Madonna and Child and Crucifixion paintings of the last couple centuries, mainly the Renaissance Era, were inspired by God. I could probably find a billion examples, but my point is that art is more than just skill, especially for the Christian artist, so to disclaim this aspect of artistry is something I can't come to terms with.
"True art is in some sense a part of nature, nature in its human embodiment pursuing its natural intellectual and formative character." (Williams 48)
- The idea that nature embodies itself through art forms is quite poetic to me. I am not sure I fully understand the idea he is trying to get across, but I just have the image in my mind of a root emerging from the earth and forming into the cage that houses a bird, the shelter that keeps the ladybug safe from turbulent winds, the structure that holds the ants nest together. And that through our hands, nature communicates and the earth is spoken for. So cool!
"Art is metaphysically superior to prudence in its aspiration to collaboration with God. But prudence is more important for the human being as such, more in tune with what human beings concretely are and need." (Williams 48)
- This quote I found interesting because it almost seems as though prudence plays the role of intermediary in a sense. "She" goes back and forth between art's need to collaborate with God and nature, and art's need to please humanity and connect with humanity, which is a strange concept, but one that is intriguing. Prudence in all her good judgement and wisdom, allows for art to live in both spiritual and earthly realms.
"Art is good when it relates to the sort of creatures we know ourselves to be." (Williams 49)
- I agree with this statement. I think that art needs to somehow speak into our existence, into the deepest recesses of our mind. It should reminds us of who we are and where we came from. At least that is what I want for my artwork to do, as well as what I would hope others' work did for me.
"Art which is not propaganda is simply aesthetics." (Williams 49)
- Hmm... this quote jumped out for me, because typically I see propaganda as being a negative thing, but in this case I see it as a positive. Yes, art must serve the community at large and be about more than self. Although I fully believe we need to have a certain freedom of expression, I also deeply believe that art must have some sort of message, point to get across, enlightening fact, or the like for the community to grasp.
Sources:
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R63jce-LiKc
- http://www.goldmarkart.com/all-art/all-artists/eric-gill.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Gill
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