Art for art's sake...

Criticism for the sake of response...

Morality for the sake of justice...

Perfection for the sake of progress...

Ambiguity for the sake of confusion...

Spaces between symbols for the sake of clarity...

Between the lines for the sake of secrecy...

For Beauty's sake I let my eyes wander.

For interest's sake the beloved beholds the attraction.

For the sake of the artist I feel without touching.

For your sake I lay down my arms and trample

the fields unabashed and unforsaken.

For the sake of forgiveness I seek and find peace.

For the sake of love I forgive the incident immediatly.

For the sake of intention I stumble aimlessly

and grope for the words that lift me up,

hoping...that in the process, I can lighten your burden.

Dear DK,
Growing up in Italy, all I knew was beauty. Looking everywhere, one had the impression that only beauty was at the core of everyone's thoughts and occupations and I absorbed the pervasive aestheticism.

Later, studying art history and Western philosophy I realized that there were infinite responses to art and beauty and my perceptions went a little deeper as I integrated several theories of aesthetics. This realization began one of my quests for perfect beauty which took me to museums and art exhibits far and near.

After many long years full of doubts and dissatisfaction I developed a more spiritual outlook. I felt that art reflects humanity's inner divinity and the words of Paramahansa Yogananda became my mantra: "I am beautiful because You [God] are beautiful. All is beautiful because You are beautiful."

My point is that without a spiritual vision one might very well engage in futile attempts to criticize art and others' perceptions.

Thank you for a great subject matter. Oscar Wild was a master of beauty.
Love,
Donatella

Dear Donatella,
I spent the morning in a relaxed and peaceful setting, being present to the warmth and sunny glow of this lovely first autumn day.

Dear Keith,
I like what you have written and would add this thought to yours,
...
For the sake of friendship, reveal yourself completely, and in that process, discover who you are.

I hope you are enjoying a nice fall day!
With love,
~ Kate

Kate,

Doesn't it sometimes seem like stress reveals

that part of yourself that only shines when the

pressure is on to perform at one's highest potential?

Thanks for the thoughtful addition for my 'sake'.

The word of the day, strange how it sounds.

For Autumn's sake, Summer takes a leave of absence.

And yet...absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Look around you and I will reveal my original face.

It's always smiling at you!

From another perspective Art is a powerful communication tool. It can speak the intangible without words.

Fantastic. Thank you for that.

...I only wonder what of she or he who can see beauty from ugliness? What a strange omission when considering the other two conditions...

Dear Kate,
It's sounds blissful :)
Dear WW,
Thanks for sharing these lyrics. They stopped me in my tracks. I like this part for its beauty and good translation:
A stream flows
and keeps on flowing.
Become a stream first and
then converse with the world.
Enjoy the splendid autumn day everybody.
Love,
Donatella

To me, Art is the form, which is expressed without need of words, to explain it's essence...story, or message.

My blog is often graced with my digital artwork; and when I look at each piece.. first I say: "wow, I made that?"

Then, I see a part of me within each graphic design I create; I suppose; it's a form of self-reflection, or self-recognition--or, at the very least, attempts to reflect/recognise our innner spirit?

To me, art is that space...between the lines...where music is made, and where silence is blessed.

With Loving Kindness,
North

Dear DK

Wilde's last line is the truest. A corollary is that the entire preface is as much nonsense as it is true.

love, Heather

"All art is quite useless."

Brutal, un-phoney, true. The concept of Art and what it does is much hogwash and over-rated.

True, it's got a value but it isn't humongously greater than much else put together. Like a million other things that constitute life, it's just there.

Yo Oscar, here's a shout to you and the bland truth.

Caro DK,
Mi hai regalato un sorriso con le tue parole. Grazie.

To the artists here, Heather, North, Rahul:

By day I praised You
and never knew it.
By night I stayed with You
and never knew it.
I always thought that
I was me--but no,
I was You
and never knew it.

Rumi (Translated by Shahram Shiva)

Dear DK, thankyou for your response and I agree...there is a deep well of an untapped source within, and it amazes me how each person works diligently to tap into that well, each in their own gifted ways... we are such amazing creatures...

Dear Donatella, thankyou!! That was very nice, and I love Rumi's words, in all ways....

With Loving Kindness,
North

Life is Art.

Without Art, life would be a mistake.

"All art is quite useless." O.W.

"Life is Art." y.o.

"Life is useless." Me2

Just kidding...

If that's the assumption, I disagree.

Are we here to serve each other or to be served?

A bit of both? Or serve people and be served by God?

Visa versa?

So tell me...who is better able to express,

live and act out the part of "free-spirit",

"innocent" on all accounts?

The useful tool or the useless fool?

Dear DK, thankyou... have a marvelous day!

Interesting, now, the tension that was noted between the Victorian era--ushered unceremoniously out the door--and the new age of Realism, the beginning of man's ontological fog in the face of unremitting industrialization. If I have my time period right, WWI was just around the corner and things were a bit crazy.

We're in a similar space. The turn of another century, the end of the Technical Age and with it the feeling that technology could solve any problem, to a new age in which the terrifying truth is upon us: that anyone with an ardent will to do so can destroy humankind.

But here's the flipside: anyone with the ardent will to do so, can refrain from harming others and even love a few.

That makes every peaceable human being, a Son and Daughter of God in Its likeness.

Art being useless is like saying perception is useless...and that is like saying life is useless.

Is life useless?

It seems some people are having trouble understanding the quote "All art is quite useless." And in turn are making dense comments. Re-read the entire sentence and study the context closer:

"We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.

All art is quite useless."

I feel like I disagree. Perhaps Wilde was partly being sarcastic, I dont know. But art itself can be used to persuade, is used by politicians as propaganda and is used by lovers to seduce. I think in that sense, art's ability to get the viewer to respect the artist is a use in itself, and all good artists, one might argue, strive to impose their vision on the world.