Reflections on art and why it matters
‘St. Mary’s Acton it is an ancient and sacred place, there has been a church on this site since the 1200’s and it has always been at the heart of the community. This ancient and sacred place welcomes Beau’s story and your stories, which have been woven together into a much bigger story of God’s love. St. Mary’s Acton welcomes artists and all of you here because you all make the community of Acton, this is your church…..’
This was part of my welcome speech at ‘Testament,’ a recent art exhibition that a local art student Beau Salmon created and curated at St. Mary’s Acton last weekend. Approximately 150-200 people turned up, the majority of whom were millennials aged around 20 years old. If any of you managed to see the artwork, it occurred to me, whether the artwork is to your taste or not, why does any of this matter? I want to explore a little this question of why does art matter? And why should we engage with it?
During the week leading up to the opening night, Friday 23 August, Beau’s work started to arrive and was being placed around the church building. It was interesting to note people’s reactions. ‘I don’t really understand art, but I like it. I like what I’m seeing.’ This honest reaction led me to wonder, do we need to understand ‘art’ to appreciate it? Does our lack of understanding help us to appreciate it more or less? For this person, they still ‘liked it’ even though they claimed they didn’t understand it. So, to some extent, perhaps even if one cannot articulate why or what or ‘the point’ of Beau’s work is about, the fact that it gives delight is surely a very good thing. However, what if you don’t like it, does that mean you don’t engage with it? Perhaps all it needs to do is provoke a response.
All these questions I am asking and still trying to find answers that make sense. Perhaps they are open to the viewers’ interpretation and have no set meaning or point. In Beau’s Testament exhibition, it appears that these magnified screenprints of photos become a kind of memorial of significant members of his family and making sense of where he himself fits in. Themes of birth, life, weddings and death are featured throughout, marking out life’s journey. Interestingly Beau has chosen to exhibit these works in St. Mary’s Acton church which he sees as ‘much like God, serves as an overseer of life’s journey..’
Beau’s work appears like a personal story of life and all I know is that they fit into a bigger narrative which I mentioned at the beginning. Beau’s story fits into the much bigger story of God’s love. Art matters because we are created in God’s image and when we create, we reflect the Creator. When we spend time to engage with art it may bring us to view our own stories or bring us to a new place within ourselves, within our hearts and souls. If we dare to look and attend to art, sometimes they can be bridges to God in our world.
Jeanny