Central Washington University ScholarWorks@CWU All Master's Theses Master's Theses 1969 An Investigation of “Revelation” in Contemporary Art John Brian Skoor Central Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd Part of the Art Education Commons, and the Liberal Studies Commons Recommended Citation Skoor, John Brian, "An Investigation of “Revelation” in Contemporary Art" (1969). All Master's Theses. 1030. https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/etd/1030 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses at ScholarWorks@CWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@CWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN INVESTIGATION OF "REVELATION" IN CONTEMPORARY ART A Thesis Presented to The Graduate Faculty Central Washington State College Ellensburg, Washington In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Art by John Brian Skoor June, 1969 ~-9 M'jlnqstta\B 0 :.li~uo::> :.lle'lS -~u,'\s-e M \"1lua') £.J.-e1qn '' ROl!03110J 1V103dS i-eo;s f ·\LLS Ql APPROVED FOR THE GRADUATE FACULTY ________________________________ E. Frank Bach, COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN _________________________________ Louis A. Kollmeyer _________________________________ Edward C. Haines ACKNOWLEDGMENTS To Mr. Edward Haines and Dr. Louis Kollmeyer, I extend grateful appreciation. Their support of my efforts over the past few years has been most encouraging. The amount of understanding and concern given me by my committee chairman, Mr. Frank Bach, was greatly appreciated. His whole outlook on life, and his attitude toward the concept developed in this thesis, made the research a pleasure. A special thanks is here extended to Mr. Bach. To Dr. Roy A. Cheville, presiding Patriarch of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, whose very life is a living example of the concept of revelation in the life of an individual, and who gave me the idea for this thesis, I extend my thanks. TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I. THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED • . 1 The Problem • . 1 Statement of the problem . 1 Importance of the study • . 2 Definitions of Terms Used • . 2 Revelation • • • • • • . 2 Self-Revelation • • • • . 2 Revelation of God • . 2 Form 3 Content . 3 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . 4 Revelation: In a Universe Under Continual Creation . 4 Revelation: A Revealing of Self Through One's Own Unique Individual Expression • 10 III. ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATIONS OF CREATIVE WORKS •• 14 Marc Chagall • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . • 14 Naum Gabo . • 20 Vincent van Gogh . • • . • • • . • . • 25 Wassily Kandinsky • • • . • • • • . • 32 Jacques Lipchitz ••• . • 37 IV. SUlYIMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . 41 iii CHAPTER PAGE BIBLIOGRAPHY 46 APPENDIX 50 AN INVESTIGATION OF "REVELATION" IN CONTEMPORARY ART CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM AND DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED This research is based on the hypothesis that basic to any work of art, or religious organization, is the concept of revelation. The majority of lay individuals tend to deemphasize this "spiritual force" and to label those who claim to have experienced it as "mystics"; certain visual artists, poets, musicians, and others, however, consider this concept vital to the life of their creative works. In essence, this research is being proposed for the purpose of showing that basic to the form of a work of art, as well as a religious organization, is the content. This writer will attempt to emphasize the great significance of revelation in a universe experiencing continual creation. I. THE PROBLEM Statement of the problem. It is the purpose of this study (1) to investigate various examples of paintings and sculptures in which the artist claimed to have revealed himself or to have had a spiritual experience in the creation of the work; (2) to present several select state­ ments by artists and theologians who claim revelation is 2 the dynamic, sustaining force in all creation; \,3) to correlate art and religion, emphasizing that the common thread which underlies them both is revelation. Importance of the study. Most observers, whether in an art gallery or a church, tend to see only the form of the object under consideration, and fail to see the abstract, intangible content of the work. This study attempts to emphasize the importance of becoming sensitive to that certain force which soars above and beyond the form. This writer believes that this force is revelation and may be expressed in the artist's work as a part of a universe undergoing continual creation. II. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS USED Revelation. The act of revealing or disclosing to others (38:725). The dynamic force which is basic to all creative activity. Self-Revelation. The disclosure of an individual's unique insights, and vision, in his creative work. The reflection of one's inner self in an outward, visual manifestation. Revelation of God. God's disclosure or manifesta- ----------- ~ ~ tion of Himself or of His will to man, as through some 3 act, oracular words, signs or laws (38:725); that which is revealed by God to man. This study accepts as a limitation the idea of "God" as professed generally in the Christian dogma; it strongly emphasizes the concept of continued revelation. God's revelation is not bound in a book, such as the Bible, but is a continuous occurrence in the lives of men. This writer believes that the Bible contains the revelation of God; however, he does not believe that revelation ceased when the scriptures were canonized. Form. The outward, physical appearance of an object. In art this would involve the arrangement of the elements of line, color, texture, shape, and space. In religion this would involve the organizational structure, including the physical appearance as well as the liturgy. Content. The dynamic force underlying the form. The force which gives the form life. This writer considers "revelation" to be the basic power of content. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Revelation as a concept is not new. Throughout the ages, man has attempted to discover himself and his rela- tionship with a "God," or a force or power beyond the self. This research will deal with the artist's concept of revelation in his creative expression. In order to under- stand the meaning of revelation, it is necessary to present some contemporary thought in regard to the concept of revelation as related to The Creator. The following will be a brief review of contemporary thought relating to the revelation of God. In conclusion, a presentation of various artists' comments on revelation will be given. This discussion will involve revelation in the narrow sense as related to the Christian church, as well as the broader sense, the revelation of God in His creation. I. REVELATION IN A UNIVERSE UNDER CONTINUAL CREATION The pattern of the creative mind, an external idea, manifested in material form by an unresting energy, with an outpouring of power that at once inspires, judges, and communicates the work; all these three being one and the same in the mind and one and the same in the work (30-23). This, Dorothy Sayers emphasizes in her book, The Mind of The Maker, is the pattern laid down by the theologians, 5 as the pattern of the "Being of God." She goes on to say that if this is true, then the mind of the maker and the Mind of The Maker are formed on the same pattern, and all their works are made in their own image (30-213). The theme of her writings deals with the evercreating God, the living author whose span of activity extends infinite beyond our racial memory in both directions. We never see his great work finished •••. There is indeed a school of thought which imagines that God having created His Universe • left his work to get on with itself. • We simply do not know of any creation which goes on creating itself in variety when the creator has withdrawn from it {30:58). Sayer suggests that it is the nature of the word to reveal itself and to incarnate itself. The word assumes material form. She compares it to a book which, she says, has a three-fold being: (1) As thought, which is an idea existing in the creators; (2) the book as written, being the energy or word incarnate; (3) the book as read, which is the power of its effect upon the responsive mind (30:113-115). Martin Buber, an Existentialist theologian, says that in the Bible, life is a constant dialogue between the above and the below. Then he goes on to ask the question: "Does this still apply to our present day life?" Believers 6 and unbelievers deny it. A common belief today is that though everything contained in the scriptures is literally true, though God did certainly speak to men chosen by Him, yet, since then, the Holy Spirit has been taken from us, heaven is silent to us, and only through books of the written and oral tradition is God's will made known to us as to what we shall or shall not do. Certainly even today, the worshiper stands immediately before his creator; but how could he dare, like the psalmist, report words of per­ sonal reply as spoken immediately to him (8:194-195). Buber goes on to say that a faithful unprepossessed reader of scripture must endorse the view he has learned from it: What happened once happens now and always, and the fact of its happening to us is a guarantee of its having happened. Kierkegaard once remarked: " • • to say that the eternal God, conceived as absolute perfection, revealed Himself in His fullness in one specimen of the temporal world is indeed a thought which is the downfall of reason." (35:6).