Beauty Affirms Human Dignity

Encountering the beautiful makes us more human

October is Respect Life Month (sorry y'all for such a late post!), so there is no better time to talk about how beauty affirms human dignity. These may seem like unrelated concepts, but stick with me, because they really are a lot more connected than you think!

Beauty Touches Us As Humans

In the first video presentation, (which you can watch here) we talked about how and why beauty touches us as human beings. Things that are beautiful speak to our souls because what is beautiful points us back to God, who made us for Himself, in His image and likeness. Beauty touches us in the core of our being because we want God who is the source of all beauty.

Essentially, beautiful things in this world are an encounter with God in the "stuff" of our lives. When we encounter something truly beautiful, it invites us to pause and be truly present in the moment. Beauty jars us out of our own heads and reminds us of reality. To truly encounter something beautiful, we have to stop and engage with it.

It is in this way that beauty puts us in touch with our own humanity. Think about a time you encountered something beautiful in nature. Have you ever felt small looking at the ocean, or a mountain, or the Grand Canyon? Have you ever marveled at how intricately flowers and plants, and your own body are made? Experiences like that humble us and leave us in awe of God, of His power and design. We can see quite clearly who we are and what our place in the world is through these experiences. We may be small compared to the wonders of creation, but God has placed us at the center of creation and made us with such great love and care.

Think about all the beautiful things humanity has accomplished. No other being in creation makes things the way humans do. Dogs don't build cathedrals. Lizards don't write poetry. Elephants don't paint masterpieces. Chimpanzees don't write novels. Fish don't cultivate gardens. Bears don't cook exquisite feasts. Birds don't think about interior design when building their nests. Whales don't perform plays or act in movies. Human creativity is a God-given gift, a part of being made in His image and likeness. As Pope St. John Paul II says in his Letter to Artists,

"God therefore called man into existence, committing to him the craftsman's task. Through his “artistic creativity” man appears more than ever “in the image of God”, and he accomplishes this task above all in shaping the wondrous “material” of his own humanity and then exercising creative dominion over the universe which surrounds him. With loving regard, the divine Artist passes on to the human artist a spark of his own surpassing wisdom, calling him to share in his creative power."

So, we can see how both encountering beauty and making beauty put us in touch with our humanity because they create a space of encounter with God. When we are aware of our own humanity, we are more likely to recognize the humanity of others. Think of a time or a situation where a friend comes to you and is struggling with something you yourself have struggled with. Perhaps you have now both lost a parent, gone through a difficult break up, or lost a job. You are able to empathize more closely with that friend because you have felt the same pain yourself. The same principle applies here. Being aware of our own humanity frees us to recognize the humanity of others.

Practical Ways Art Affirms Human Dignity

What does all that look like in the real world then? In the first presentation, I highlighted Eric Genuis, a composer who preforms his music for people in prison and kids in inner-city schools. His ministry is truly a ministry because giving people the opportunity to encounter beauty in his music, opens the door for people who may have never had such an encounter before, to encounter God. (You can find that video here).

Beauty is also useful for calling attention to particular issues. People may be slow to read a scholarly book on a particular topic but a good song treating the same subject reaches exponentially more people. Why? Because beauty is compelling. For example, when I was in high school, myself and some other art students were invited to participate in a program called Beyond Perceptions whose goal was to raise awareness of the problem of homelessness in Indianapolis and challenge the common perceptions about homeless people. (You can find a great article about the program here). Through the creative process and meetings with homeless people and the local agencies that help them, we created unique pieces that helped us encounter the humanity of a group of people society often forgets about.

These examples show us the purpose of beauty. A true artist does not make art just for themselves, but for others. This creative gift is not something to hold on to for oneself, but is ultimately at the service of others. A true artist uses their gift to lift up all of humanity. Pope St. John Paul II puts this idea well in his Letter to Artists;

"Works of art speak of their authors; they enable us to know their inner life, and they reveal the original contribution which artists offer to the history of culture. Here we touch on an essential point. Those who perceive in themselves this kind of divine spark which is the artistic vocation—as poet, writer, sculptor, architect, musician, actor and so on—feel at the same time the obligation not to waste this talent but to develop it, in order to put it at the service of their neighbor and of humanity as a whole."

Art upholds human dignity because it puts man in touch with the "mystery of his own being" (phrase from Evangelium Vitae 22) and opens up a space for an encounter with God. Art and beauty are also privileged forms of service because beauty touches us and calls for a response. We serve our neighbor through art by providing the place of encounter both vertically (with God) and horizontally (with others).

We are all called to make something beautiful out of our lives, to be saints, regardless of our artistic gifts. We are all called to use the gifts we have to serve our neighbor, to feed the hungry, spread the Gospel, shelter the homeless, comfort the sorrowful, visit the sick and those in prison, stand up for the rights of those who have no voice, and help the world to recognize the immense dignity and value of human life. Let us go forth then and do something beautiful for God and put our art at the service of God and our neighbor.