Hello my friends

I have been quite busy lately learning bronze casting. The art of the old Greeks, who are said to have started this  extraordinary kind of handicraft. It makes beautiful and lasting peaces of art.The surface of a bronze sculpture  can be exquisite, brownish,golden or patinated with coppersulphate which turns it turqouise.

About art we can read in the Bahai-scriptures the following:(My translation from Swedish)

"All art is a gift from the Holy Spirit.When this light penetrates the mind of a musician, it manifests beautiful harmonies. Again, through penetrating the mind of a poet, it manifests fine poetry and poetic prose. When the light of the Sun of Truth inspires the mind of a painter, he produces marvelous pictures. These gifts fulfill their highest goals when they show the praising of God."

About beauty in art:

"It is natural for the heart and the spirit to be gladdened by and to enjoy  all things that shows symmetry, harmony and perfection. For example, a beautiful house, a well planned garden, a symmetric line, a movement of beauty" (in a dance)" a well written book, attractive clothes - ..all that has elegance or beauty is attractive for the heart and the spirit...."

Why do we want to  make beautiful art. Because we are the children of the Creator, Who has designed this extraordinary work of art, the creation.

Somebody objected to this and said; all creation or nature is not harmonius, so why should we always try to create perfect peaces of art.  My thoughts about this is like this. Let us for example look at the japaneeze type of gardening. It is a special form of art, where the contrasts of nature is preserved,thereby ,in the most intricate way showing or enhancing perfection. Think of the rough cliff placed in a  smooth field of small pebbles....this is also beautiful and what is rough becomes full of meaning.

This is the way I contemplate this age of confusion in the field of arts. Now the artists as well as others are confused, scared, frustrated, ...they give expressions for this, if  you understand what I mean. This will be a great contrast to the art ,to the relieved artists, that again turn to the human form,that is now misrepresented or even missing. I am so convinced that they will again turn to  "healed" faces, to the harmony of the human body and express thoughts and ideas with this. Now, this an age of transition,- such is my opinion,- of experimenting, having thrown away all old forms of art, the so called romantic stream,subordinated and rejected as superficial. In a more advanced age, perhaps after another hundred years, we will again see the return of humans in art, and we will see harmony and beauty and THAT will be called the Avant Garde.

This is an age where one can see:

For example, an  real oxen cut in half, a glassbox of a million fluttering flies, a rottening pig in a kiosk, a christlike figure sunk in urea, (The US!!)paintings made of animals blood even drawn on humans,(Austrice) and a girl who is faking a psycosis on a bridge (performance art in Stockholm). A book or a peace of poetry consisting of nothing but  one single word, meaning rifle.

 Is this the result of the Holy Spirit?

But, understand me right -I am just an onlooker and I see that each age has its own way. It must be like this, just now, since about 100 years and it will last for a little longer.                                                                                 I also see the future when harmony and elegance is sought and striven at in the fine arts when other things than cows blood is used "to get nearer to life." Gone will be the frustrations and the wrath of today's artists.                                                          I strive at and wish to keep one foot in the field of future art, which I clearly can see.                                                          It is said that artists are visionaries, at least they are by some expected to be like that, but it doesn't hold in each case. But I say to you, my friends,everybody can be visionaries by the aid of the Holy Spirit. And by the aid of the Holy Spirit can you see what is "lasting art".

"The body that is bereft of the spirit is not able to produce real results. Even if it is in the best condition regarding beauty and perfections, it is none the less in need of the spirit. The glass of the lamp is, though it be polished and perfect, in need of the light. Without the light the lamp or the candle doesn't shine."

Abdu'l-Bahá, who is also the author of all these quotations

Kind regards from Laila

Dear Nick

Thanks for your reply, which I didn't get in time to have a look at. Sadly, it was removed, when I ,today sunday, checked the postbox here.. Did you send me a peace of modern art?  As an exemple of what is now going on in the so called avant garde art? .....Yesterday evening there was the Eurovision song contest, from Moscow. I enjoyed three hrs of nice hits from both Europe and the Middle East + former republiques of the (former)Sovjet Union ...25 countries. This contest is a real great event over here.The Russians had made a fantastic  and great show costing about three hundred billions crowns, all fantastic, with  colors, dances, humour , transparent waterbasins hanging in the ceiling !containing swimming  and playing and jumping swimmers from Argentina, Russian coirs singing folksongs ect.  The basins were then sunk all the way down to the audience! You could watch and touch (like)the playing acrobats, what an effect!
All the countries  with a few exceptions presented, sweet songs, folksongs, poetic songs, romantic songs, elegant songs (Sweden, with lovely opera singer Malena Ernman)humorous...all that other artforms are lacking, mostly. Norway won by far this year's contest with an unusual type of romantic song,with folktype insertions on the violin and acrobatic dances, written sung and played on a violin by the young sweet Alexander Ryback (Rybak). This is a song that makes you happy!!!! And That's what art is for!!!!!Maybe Alexander is on Youtube. Alexander's winning shows the  taste of commoners. All the countries ...Everybody voted for him, mostly  the highest points .Yea , music brings people together in unity, really. What a night. And Malena Ernman, try to find her, somewhere. The Swedish song 's name is La Voix, (the Voice). I love it, it is also a  very happy song, keeping the spirits high.

Well that's all for today.

Hugs to you and caresses to your cats.

Laila