The Courage to Say, "It Stinks"

"The parable of the sower"

Postmodernity is like the classic movie monster "The Blob" that absorbed everything in its wake. In no area of life does this seem more true than that of aesthetics and the arts. We are told that there are no forms of music that are superior to others, nor any art that is better than others; all is in the eye of the beholder, all is subjective, mere opinion. I am here to say, balderdash. I want you dear reader to stand erect, with a stiff upper lip, a critical eye or ear, and to courageously declare, "It stinks." without feeling as though you have committed some sort of blaspheme.

The fear to call a form of art bad came rushing back to my mind this weekend, as I was in a chapel that houses what has to be among the more ridiculous portraits in churches. It is Jesus, looking like the type of stern vagrant one would meet at a 7-Eleven at 2 am, as the sower of his parable. His toes on one of his feet jut out from the wall a bit, giving the impression that he is walking out of the painting to ask for a dollar. Flanking him are the individuals represented in Christ's parable of the sower. In the background is the city of Jerusalem, and beyond that the two towers from NYC smoldering, after the 9/11 attacks (unfortunately I could not get a picture that captures all of this).

The humorous thing to myself is that when I asked other people in the chapel what they thought about this monstrosity, the reply I got was, "Oh wow! I just noticed that! Woah that is awesome!" Another person, who I could tell was looking at the thing with a jaundiced eye, replied, "It's alright." People are simply afraid to say that an artistic expression is bad.

So, let me lead the charge and say it, "It stinks."

Apart from the second commandment issues, many depictions of of Christ are just plain creepy; this painting is no exception in that regard. Don't get me wrong, this wasn't an easy piece to make, it took a great deal of talent to produce it, so it has that going for it. It is huge, made with oils, and vibrant. The unfortunate result was a huge, oily, vibrant 9/11 level artistic catastrophe on the chapel wall.

The painting in the chapel reminds me of the steady stream of unwittingly irreverent art that Jon McNaughton continues to churn out. It is "God and Country" Fox News Republicanism put into art. Below is the painting, "The Empowered Man", it is part of a series of paintings (The previous one, "the forgotten man") which could conveniently be made into a comic strip. To the left you see Lincoln, Washington, Reagan, and I think Jefferson praying. On the right you see Obama prominently positioned with his hands up, in a defensive posture, as though the constitution wielding man has a string of garlic driving back his vampiric impulses. Behind Obama are the dejected faces Bill Clinton, FDR, LBJ.

"The Empowered Man"

When analyzing art one must ask what is its message? Here the message is that the constitution is apparently Heaven's gift to man; it has the power to drive back the forces of darkness (Obama, Bill Clinton, LBJ), and it is cheered by the likes of Lincoln. Nevermind that Lincoln was head of the bloodiest anti-constitutional presidential administration in American history; here is Lincoln again portrayed as a national saint. Also, note the kneeling of Jefferson. What is he kneeling before? This kneeling with abject reverence before the constitution is a repeating theme in McNaughton's work. Americana is the god in McNaughton's work. As such, it stinks.

"One Nation Under God"

Above is another example of McNaughton's work. The message is right to the point, the constitution is God's gift to man. It is interesting the think about the type of personality which this kind of art would appeal to; on second thought, no, it really isn't that interesting. There is no mystery here, there is no invitation to contemplate, and no question as to what exactly the artist means. McNaughton's work is to art what a strip club is to romance, it is cheap, to the point, wholly artificial, and utterly lacking in mystery. In other words, it is propaganda. Other than that the paintings themselves aren't half bad.

Art is not purely subjective, like one's favorite ice cream, or roller coaster ride. Some works are better than others and in our context it takes great courage to say that a song, painting, or even an outfit is shabby. Relativism rules in art and aesthetics in our day; where else do all of the squares on canvases, or pajama wearing Wal-Mart goers come from? It's high time for a Renaissance in beauty, this will only come through vigorously reclaiming objective standards in art and aesthetics.