The good, the true, and the beautiful

There are many schools of interpretation of art. Most of them claim to be the only way. I think they all have a truth but why not use all perspectives available to you for a fuller view?

But today I want to remind you about three simple ways you can use to either interpret art, or to create art yourself. I learned about this myself from Ken Wilber.
Most of us, including myself, usually judge objects as bad or good. But you have probably noticed it is never that simple; maybe a part of it was still good even though most of it stunk to high heaven?

We like to simplify this way because then we don’t have to change. We don’t want to change our opinions because we are attached to them; we think our opinions define who we are. Changing opinions feels unsafe and risky for most.
“You might disappear if you don’t stick to your opinions….!”
(Damn those ___________________ and their politics!) Winking smile

So, think about True, Good and Beautiful when you look at anything.

What is true about the art. How do you know?
What is good about the art. How do you know?
What is beautiful about the art. How do you know?

What do we mean with true, good and beautiful?

Well, there are of course many interpretations and here is where you come in. But if you also see these “three” as Science, Morals, and Art it might be a little more clear? We can also refer it to It, We, and I.
If it is confusing, read on. It will be clear(er).

Meaning:

What is beautiful, is mostly a personal judgment. You might have heard of the saying “The beauty lies in the eye of the beholder”? So, this judgment about beauty comes from you; it is a personal judgment. (Something is esthetically pleasing or not.) Art, the way we talk about it here, is simply esthetics. In this way Beauty, Arts and I are related.
In the same way as above, Good, Morals and We are related.
But this time time is not a personal judgment; when we decide what is good or morally right, we need more than one person. We need at least two people who agree with each other – In general a whole society. This is not about facts, but about a consensus.
Finally, True, Science and It refers to facts, not to opinions. For example, if the sun is shining it is not a matter about preference, nor if you agree about it. It is simply true; it is truly happening no matter what anyone wants or not.

Now, I believe that none of these perspectives are enough on its own. You might find that you, or other people like to only see the world through only one of these perspectives. In obviously ok to specialize in any of these areas, but I find that most approaches who only deals with one perspective is rather limited and missing out a whole lot.
For example, for every experience there is an interior and an exterior; you can feel what you experience, and then you can, for example, measure that experience in brain-waves. But to say that only one of those perspective is important and the other just imaginations is in my mind very close-minded.

I mean, next time you are dealing with your partner about a delicate issue, try to explain it all with just brain-waves and chemical imbalances… Good luck…

Of course, this could be a much bigger discussion but I hope you permit some generalizations and that you understand what I am after.

Seeing art in three ways.

I hope you can see that these concepts are not necessarily dependent on each other. For example, something can be true, but perhaps not good, nor beautiful. Or perhaps something is beautiful and good, but not true. Or something can be all three.

Next time you are too hard on yourself, remember that it is never that simple as just good and bad. Rarely is something not true, nor good, nor beautiful. Now you can at least find something that is either true, good, or beautiful.
Most shows I have seen have mostly one or two of all three. Really interesting stuff have all three (and I’m of course not just talking about my own judgment here…)

I find that looking at things this way makes everything more worth-while. Next time you go to a performance you might not like, remember these three perspectives. Let’s say the show is not beautiful and not good, but perhaps true. – Maybe that part alone was worth the visit?
Remember, “good” in this example is not about personal opinion but about what is morally good for “us”. Also, sometimes we have to break moral boundaries in order to go further. If you have studied art-history you know that most famous artists did just that.

Of course, the arts, is about art in the way we discuss here. So we are talking mostly about beauty, but I think it can definitely be useful and opening to one’s mind to view art art in the other two perspectives as well.

Judging too quickly and so much gets lost.

Many say that judging is bad.
Well, people with this opinion forget that what they just said is a judgment too. We can not escape judgments, so let’s use them wisely rather than trying to ignore them. Every time you decide what to eat, what to wear, what to do, you use your judgment. Wouldn’t you say it is quite crucial to be able to judge well?

So, knowing these three views makes you judge more wisely.

For example, maybe you see a show that is truly beautiful. Let’s say that the radiance of the show had a great effect on you, making you feel very inspired.
Later you find out that the show was made by a person who believes that black people and Jews are lesser beings and that the show actually had a message saying that the white race is better than other races.

Surprised smile

Let’s say this message was not obvious to you the first time. Now, having the facts, you change your mind about the show instantly and you like don’t like anything about it. This is to be understood because when we don’t like something in any of the perspectives, we usually decide that the other perspectives must be bad as well, without any consideration.

But maybe the show was still beautiful as a presentation? This is very difficult for most to be open to. But I think we have to, in order to evolve as artists and deepen our art. Especially as a practice of seeing the value of all the perspectives. This way you will be more aware of them so that you can include as much of them as possible.

Seeing, does not mean agreeing (with everything)

Now, I am not saying that you should agree with a racist view. In this case, the show was not “good”, at least if we are to agree with more evolved people. But think about the fact that if you never would have found out about the racism-part, you probably would not have changed your mind about the show in terms of beauty.

There is obviously a difference between agreeing and seeing.
You can understand, but not agree. You can still stand for what you think is right.

Can you for example see something that is right about your opposite political party, even though you still believe in your own views?

Become a big artist

Ok, so I made an extreme case to make the point clear. Most of the time in your life it is not this extreme, at least I hope so.

Most of the time, it should be easier for you to appreciate the three perspectives and hopefully open up your view about your art and of other’s art. Perhaps you will be even “more conscious” when you create so that you try to include as much of “the three” as possible? Or choosing not to, with awareness.

Can you see the freedom in being able to see more clearly and having more perspectives? Can you see the expansiveness in not judging too fast with overly-simplified concepts?

You can still appreciate something that is mostly crap, and you can also really know why something stinks and why it does not deserve much of your time.
This attitude will make you see the bigger picture. A bigger picture does not mean that older ideas get lost, it means that you have more possibilities, including the possibilities you had in the past. But probably the newer possibilities feel somewhat fresher.

Cheers! photo credit