not so revolutionary

I decided to go to the museum of contemporary art the other night to get away for a while. I had never been to this museum and I went with an open mind to see the world through the eyes of some rather different individuals. I went to the first floor and saw a room full of abstract vinyl cutouts that had random numbers on them. I stood there looking intently, probably trying to look as understanding of the nonesense as possible. No real understanding came even after reading the little blurb painted on the wall. I left that particular room in high spirits because I saw some interesting art, but I was not concerned that I had no idea what it all meant. You could say I was encouraged a little bit as I realized that my mind could easily come up with that "art" as well.

I traveled the next flight of stairs and saw some incredible photography. Photos speak loudly to me and so I went through the next few exhibits happy because I was moved by the statements that the photos were making about the injustices that are going on in this world. The main exhibit was the Richard Tuttle works and I turned the corner to go see what he had to say about this life through his creative mind. I walked through the exhibit completely lost. Some of the random sculptures were genuinely interesting, but I was troubled by most of the pieces. There was absolutely no joining of thoughts on the wall. I watched a short film that dared to explain this madness and I began to get depressed. I am not joking, I began to feel a darkness in my soul because of this art. I am not saying that the art contained some sort of evil, but it did represent the lostness of this world, and, even more specifically, Richard Tuttle.

You see, Richard emerged as an artist in the sixties and was simply respected for having the title. He is truly in his own world of trying to understand the meaning of life. His sense of reality is so far gone that I began to long for understanding FOR him. Since he is now well-known, his art is not questioned but seen as something beyond what most people can comprehend. People assume there is meaning because Richard says there is meaning. Really, his art displays a chaotic mindset that is trying to convince itself that the path to true knowlege can be obtained through human effort. In the wake of his art, people revel at the "complexity" that Tuttle thinks and creates at. Finding true meaning is not needed because whatever the observers are told about the piece is what the art displays.

I should not be surprised because in my quest for finding out what the Lord is doing, I often read what I want to read and take my professors word as I would the Words of God. What brings me peace is when the Lord Himself reveals Himself to me. Debate about how He does this all day, but the Lord speaks today through many ways. I take hope in the fact that I don't need someone to tell me what God is saying. I do not discredit education or take wisdom from other people for granted. However, if we were left with a Bible glued to a white wall that could be read but had no sign next to it on what it meant, we can be sure that God would reveal Himself to us. That sign on the wall just may be the Holy Spirit to unclouds our confused minds and allows us to grasp the grace of God. Maybe the mysteries of this world are not so abstract after all.