Seeing In The Dark
or Wax Moon Faces and Books with Pores
“It often seems to me that the night is much more
alive and richly colored than the day.”
—Vincent Van Gogh in a letter to his brother Theo in 1888
Last week I had the privilege of viewing seven Van Goghs, all in one room, including Starry Night Over the Rhone, the depth and texture of which has to be seen to be believed.
The impressionists went out of their way not to paint what they saw. They stretched and strained the norms to communicate how it made them feel. They were expounding—explaining—reality. As Jordan writes, made in the image of God, man is the only symbol which is also a symbol-maker. [1]
This post has been slain and resurrected for inclusion in my 2015 book of essays, Inquietude.
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March 11th, 2010 at 10:25 pm
This is a gorgeous observation: “Wisdom and maturity, like good wine and fine cigars, are well-rounded, bittersweet tastes to be acquired over time. All history is about man gaining good judgment, individually and corporately”
A hearty amen . . .
March 12th, 2010 at 8:07 am
Thanks for visiting, Brian
Yes – but an experienced palate is easier to achieve than mastery of the tough moral dilemmas it symbolises. When it comes to the curved balls our culture keeps throwing–or even the easy pitches–the Western church isn’t doing too well.