Some Musings Regarding Modern Art

In my reading this past weekend, I ran across this quote from Francis Schaeffer, “. . . we must realize that the final message of modern art is the uncertainty and un-relatedness of all things.”

I don’t consider modern art evil, but I don’t like it much. I’ve seen a few paintings that drew me in, but not very many. I would even concede that there is some obvious skill in painting some of these pieces (e.g., in colors or patterns). It just isn’t for me. However, modern art reflects how real people see the world, and that is something that, ironically, does make it of value to me.

Many people today think and feel that the cosmos is a random, impersonal coincidence. This is tragic—although it's certainly nothing new in human history. When life gets rough (a guaranteed experience for every single one of us), such a view offers one very little to hang onto, navigate with, or to hope against.

Amid the increasing secularized social-air that we breathe, much of life today seems to be more fragmented, evacuated of meaning, and chaotic—and this is also how modern art makes me feel. If the walls of my abode were exclusively adorned with such inordinate abstraction, I would feel uncomfortable in my own home. It’s contrary to my sensibilities, because it’s contrary to my sense about what is true and real.