Today is World Art Day, an international celebration of the fine arts established by the International Association of Art to promote awareness of creative expression around the world. From painting and music to literature, dance, and architecture, art has long been a powerful way for people to communicate ideas, explore beauty, and reflect on the world around them.
For Christians, art is more than creativity or self-expression, it can be a way of revealing deeper truths about God and His creation. In this student-written blog, Sevenstar Academy junior Anna Zoe B. reflects on the role of art throughout human history and throughout Scripture, exploring how creativity points us back to the ultimate Creator.
What is Art?
Art is far more than just beauty seen through the human eyes, it’s a part of life’s essence, and the Bible supports that.
What modern society considers art was established and categorized in the 18th century by scholars in order to distinguish art from other forms of expression; the official title given was Fine Arts and the categories of fine arts go far beyond that of a painting on canvas. Literature and poetry, sculpting, music, dance, architecture, and–later in the 20th century–photography, cinematography and comics are all considered a form of art.
According to the Royal Spanish Academy of Language, the complete definition of art is the manifestation of human activity expressed, a vision that interprets what is real or imagined using plastic, linguistic or auditory resources (Mapfre Foundation).
Art is expressed and used every day, worldwide, in the lives of every human being, and it has been so since the Garden of Eden, in the most simplistic to the most grand ways possible.
Why Art Matters to Humanity
Professionals find art to be crucial for humanity. For example, music is found to improve concentration and spatial awareness–especially on developing brains–and it also has a calming effect on individuals, which depends on the genre of the music being played.
Research led by Quinn Eastman in 2011 showed that when individuals simply looked at paintings, the ventral striatum (the part of the brain responsible for dopamine production, goal-direction behavior regulation and the reward system) was most active when looking at those paintings; which was concluded and observed that visual arts is a reward system for the brain (Emory University Scholarblogs).
Dancing is also beneficial for one’s health because it is a form of exercise; it improves cardiovascular health, balance, flexibility and muscular strength.
Aside from health benefits, art is so important, for both individuals and society as a whole, that historians deem necessary that some form of art has to have been created and practiced by that group in order for a group of people to be historically considered a society.
Art in the Bible
Art is a constant presence in our daily lives, especially in ways we either forget or don’t even realize, as mentioned, and it has been present since the beginning of creation and proceeding throughout the rest of the Bible.
When God created Adam, He sculpted him with His own hands and blew life into Him; Job blessed His children and praised God constantly through poetry; Moses, Miriam and all of Israel celebrated their victory at the Red Sea with singing and dancing.
The book of Psalms is entirely poetry and song lyrics; Song of Solomon is another book filled with poetry about love. Throughout the gospels, Jesus frequently preaches through stories–parables–to the disciples and others who asked Him questions regarding the kingdom of God.
In the book of Acts, Paul and Silas are arrested for sharing God’s Word, and whilst in jail, they begin to sing and praise God. This causes an earthquake that opens their jail bars, yet neither they nor the other prisoners, leave, although the soldier in charge of the jail at first believed they had escaped. Paul and Silas resumed preaching to him and his entire family, which results in an entire household giving their lives to Christ.
The story of Paul and Silas in jail shows the power art can have when used in the correct way.
Art as Divine Creativity
The whole Bible itself is a work of art, carefully knit together by the greatest artist of all–God.
As mentioned, according to secular scholars, art is the manifestation of human activity through expression, but it goes deeper than human-centered creativity; art is a reflection of divine creativity–of God’s creativity. Our existence is evidence of that: God created the world through art when He spoke, and when He made us, He made us through art (Genesis 1); therefore, we need art to exist and we need art to glorify God.
The Bible constantly encourages believers to use dancing and instruments to praise God and to reveal His power and glory through art (Exodus 31:1-6; 35:30-35).
Art isn’t just a form of beauty and comfort for healing, it’s also a necessity in the lives of all Christians, because art is the highest form of praise to God, and through art, His glory is revealed – to us and to those who have not yet known Him.
Sources
Anna Zoe B. is a junior at Sevenstar Academy. This piece was originally published in The Star Report, Sevenstar’s student-led newsletter.
