Creativity and Art

Artists, scientists and inventors take after the creativity of God. The universe was created beginning with an idea in the divine Mind, followed by the expenditure of energy to make that idea a reality.

Likewise, artists and scientists give all their heart and effort to create a new existence that manifests the images and thoughts in their mind. This section focuses on the arts, and so includes, alongside scripture some selected passages from famous artists reflecting on the meaning of their art.

Yet, creativity is not the sole possession of these elite personages; we find creativity in the athlete who plays exuberantly for the love of sport, in the merchant who finds better ways to market his wares, and in children as they dance and sing.

Father Moon, who has established ballet companies and art schools and who himself loves to sing duets with his wife, is cognizant of the role the arts can play in creating a God-centered culture.

Topics include: art as harmony of opposites, art’s emotional core and emotional power; the muse or spirituality of art; and the problem of art and values.

All art is concerned with coming into being.
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics 6.4 (Hellenism)

The whole life of man is Self-Expression. The individual is an expression of God. We suffer if we do not express ourselves. Precepts 1-4 (Perfect Liberty Kyodan)

We composers are projectors of the infinite into the finite.
Edvard Grieg

The sole and end aim of figured bass should be nothing else than God’s glory and the recreation of the mind. Johann Sebastian Bach

True art is made noble and religious by the mind producing it… the endeavor to create something perfect; for God is perfection, and whoever strives after perfection is striving for something divine. Michelangelo

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart.
Ephesians 5.18-19

And whenever the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, David took the lyre and played it with his hand; so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him. 1 Samuel 16.23

Men can be evil—more evil than their animal brothers can ever be—but they can also rise in the ecstasy of creation. The cathedrals of England stand as monuments to man’s worship of what is above himself. One does feel proud to belong to the human race when one sees the wonderful things human beings have fashioned with their hands. They have been creators—they must share a little the holiness of the Creator, who made the world and all that was in it, and saw that it was good. But He left more to be made. Agatha Cristie

In eloquence, there is magic, in knowledge, ignorance; in poetry wisdom, and in speech weariness. Hadith of Abu Dawud (Islam)

If I create from the heart, nearly everything works; if from the head, almost nothing. Marc Chagall

Let our artists be those who are gifted to discern the true nature of the beautiful and graceful; then will our youth dwell in a land of health, amid fair sights and sounds, and receive the good in everything; and beauty, the effluence of fair works, shall flow into the eye and ear, like a health-giving breeze from a purer region, and insensibly draw the soul from earliest years into likeness and sympathy with the beauty of reason.

Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful. Plato, The Republic (Hellenism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Human beings are meant to inherit the creative nature of God and participate with God in His great work of creation. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 5.2.2)

A culture develops from words. It begins with speech; then the words are written down to become literature. Then they are expressed in paintings and other works of art. Art and culture are thus expressions of the invisible word. This is the principle of creation through the Word, emerging as visible form and substantial existence. (107:317, June 8, 1980)

Songs, dancing, and art are ways that human beings respond to God’s joy and laughter. On the other hand, without love, singing, dancing, and art are to no purpose. The core of art is love. For the love of the world, God comes down and resonates with us through singing, dancing, and art. (225:128-29, January 5, 1992)

When professionals in the art world seek for something profound and need inspiration, they fall back on their religious background. That is why the culture of art developed centered on religion.

Take Christian culture, for example. If you have a chance to travel in Europe, visit the Vatican. You will see the essence of European culture in each work of art.. (198:281; February 5, 1990)

Art is worthless unless there is profound emotion in the background. A great work of art should be capable of arousing deep emotion, whether one views it today or a thousand years from now. A painting that can stimulate such a feeling deep in our hearts is called a masterpiece. (142:274-75, March 13, 1986)

To be an artist is to make one’s life a work of art. Children’s education should be imbued with art. A wife should be an artist of the emotions in the way she honors and shows appreciation to her husband. I believe that it is a greater art than the paintings that hang in museums. The greatest value of art is to beautify and elevate love in the family. (100:139, October 9, 1978)

Human beings value love more than anything. Have you ever heard of animals creating art or literature? The theme of great literature is simple: the joys and sorrows of love relationships. Great literature is good at describing love in history, in society, in ordinary life,e ann the future. Next, great literature is good at using metaphors, for instance, a majestic river evokes love flowing into eternity…

What better way of describing the beauty of love than using nature’s metaphors? God created all things in nature to stimulate our sense of love. All creatures are woven together with love.

A masterpiece of literature has as its central theme a love which connects all of the beauty and wonder of nature—the heavenly bodies, the beauty of rivers, mountains, trees and flowers—all of which come together to stimulate the expression of human love. A novel may be well written, but unless it expresses the beauty of love, the reader easily loses interest.

The central theme of literature is always how to manifest the human passion of love. Poetry is no exception; poems just use fewer words. Young people in particular are sensitive to poetic feelings and are readily intoxicated by the emotions evoked in poetry and literature. They are responding to the universal human desire to relate to love. (94:60, July 3, 1977)

How can people from diverse nations and languages share their feelings in a short time? It cannot be done with literature or fine arts. It can be done only through song. A song, though short, can express all kinds of feelings and capture anyone’s heart. What songs make us the happiest?

Songs that praise the most precious Central Being of the universe. They attract the greatest attention of all beings, including all things in nature. When we sing God’s praises in the evening under the setting sun, we can move God’s heart to empathize with our emotions.

Therefore, when you sing, do not sing casually, but place yourself in the position of the composer and lyricist and feel their emotions. Then sing with a heart to praise God. Some songs are joyful, nd some songs are sad.

When you sing joyful songs with a joyful heart, you harmonize with Heaven and rejoice alongside nature in the garden of joy. When you sing sad songs, you should open your chest as wide as possible and sing loudly to melt the world’s grief and clean up the world’s sorrows. (270:11, May 3, 1995)

Music expresses the harmony of the universe, while rituals express the order of the universe. Through harmony, all things are influenced, and through order, all things have a proper place.

Music rises to heaven, while rituals are patterned on the earth… Therefore, the Sage creates music to correlate with Heaven and creates rituals to correlate with the Earth. When rituals and music are well established, we have the Heaven and Earth functioning in perfect order. Book of Ritual 19 (Confucianism)

Music creates order out of chaos; for rhythm imposes unanimity upon the divergent, melody imposes continuity upon the disjointed, and harmony imposes compatibility upon the incongruous.

Thus, a confusion surrenders to order and noise to music, and as we through music attain that greater universal order which rests upon fundamental relationships of geometrical and mathematical proportion, direction is supplied to mere repetitious, power to the multiplication of elements, and purpose to random association. Yehudi Menuhin

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Always bear in mind that you stand about others. A dancer expresses the beauty of her art while always standing in the position of an object to her partner. Like a dancer, you should live with the feeling of being embraced in God’s bosom.

With such a mind, you can become a handsome man or a beautiful woman. Bring love’s activity and beauty’s receptivity into harmony. (15:171, 1965.10.07)

We need a realm of partners. When a man and a woman love each other, all kinds of harmony emerge in heaven and on earth. Literature and art emerged centered on the love between man and woman. Literature deals with their yearning to find the original Being (through their love). What is art? It is that which beautifies love. (354:21, September 16, 2001)

A good singer knows the art of harmony, balancing her highs and lows. When she sings her highest note, beyond which she can go no higher, she must then come down to a lower note. No one wants to listen to a soprano who keeps ascending; when she skillfully lowers her voice, you feel relieved. A soprano who knows how to lower her voice at the right time is a good singer. Likewise, the art of happiness in human life is the ability to go up and down smoothly. (98:50, April 9, 1978)

Not by wisdom do poets write poetry, but by a sort of genius and inspiration; they are like diviners or soothsayers who also say many fine things, but do not understand the meaning of them. Socrates, in Plato, Apology (Hellenism)

When in my most inspired moods, I have definite inspiring visions, involving a higher selfhood. I feel at such moments that I am tapping the source of infinite and eternal energy from which you and I and all things proceed. Religion calls it God. Richard Strauss

I have very definite impressions while in that trance-like condition, which is the prerequisite of all true creative effort. I feel that I am one with this vibrating Force, that is omniscient, and that I can draw upon it to an extent that is limited only by my own capacity to do so. Richard Wagner

The most beautiful experience one can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of art and science. Albert Einstein

The Lord has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah; and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with abil- ity, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. Exodus 35.30-33

Woodworker Ch’ing carved a piece of wood and made a bell stand, and when it was finished, everyone who saw it marveled, for it seemed to be the work of gods or spirits. When the Marquis of Lu saw it, he asked, “What art is it you have?” Ch’ing replied, “I am only a craftsman—how would I have any art?

There is one thing, however. When I am going to make a bell stand, I never let it wear out my energy. I always fast in order to still my mind. When I have fasted for three days, I no longer have any thought of congratulations or rewards, of titles or stipends.

When I have fasted for five days, I no longer have any thought of praise or blame, of skill or clumsiness. And when I have fasted seven days, I am so still that I forget I have four limbs and a form and body. By that time, the ruler and his court no longer exist for me.

My skill is concentrated and all outside distractions fade away. After that, I go into the mountain forest and examine the Heavenly nature of the trees. If I find one of superlative form, and I can see a bell stand there, I put my hand to the job of carving; if not, I let it go. This way I am simply matching up ‘Heaven’ with ‘Heaven.’ That’s probably the reason that people wonder if the results were not made by spirits.” Chuang Tzu 19 (Taoism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
When your mind and body become united and you reach the point where you open the gate of love, your mind will resonate with the universe. Then you can become a writer or a poet. In that state, you are open to relating to everything in all its dimensions. Then, even watching a fallen leaf tossed by the wind will bring you to laughter. (137:232, January 3, 1986)

World-famous scientists usually have deeply sensitive minds, by which they harmonize with the heart of nature. With that sensitivity, they unexpectedly receive intuitions, inspirations, and dreams. These phenomena occur especially when they are completely absorbed in their research. (6:341-42, June 28, 1959)

Before you write anything, first make a spiritual condition to enter a mystical state; then you can produce beautiful writing. When painting, do not just work alone in your room. Instead, make a spiritual condition and ask a great painter’s spirit to come and help you; then your work will generate great admiration from people.

Great scientists and artists inevitably have a spiritual connection; it exists because they made spiritual efforts. (100:123, October 9, 1978)

An artist should have a clear mind and spirit. Then, with a clear conscience, he should invest everything. (77:319, April 30, 1975)

As for the poets, those who follow them stray into evil. Have you not seen how they stray in every valley, and how they say what they do not? Except for those who believe and do good works, and remember God much. Qur’an 26.224-227

Singing produces hypocrisy in the heart as water produces crops. Hadith of Baihaqi (Islam)

‘A’isha said that when the subject of poetry was mentioned to God’s messenger, he said, “It is speech, and what is good in it is good and what is bad is bad.” Hadith of Daraquni (Islam)

Emotions of any kind are produced by melody and rhythm; therefore by music a man becomes accustomed to feeling the right emotions; music has thus power to form character, and the various kinds of music based on various modes, may be distinguished by their effects on character—one, for example, working in the direction of melancholy, another of effeminacy; one encouraging abandonment, another self-control, another enthusiasm, and so on. Aristotle (Hellenism)

If one should desire to know whether a kingdom is well governed, if its morals are good or bad, the quality of its music will furnish the answer. The noble-minded man’s music is mild and delicate, keeps a uniform mood, and enlivens and moves. Such a man does not harbor pain or mourn in his heart; violent and daring movements are foreign to him. Yo Ki, Memorial of Music (Confucianism)

The final purpose of art is to intensify, even, if necessary, to exacerbate, the moral consciousness of people. Norman Mailer. Under the effect of music, the five social duties are without admixture, the eyes and the ears are clear, the blood and the vital energies are balanced, habits are reformed, customs are improved, and the empire is at complete peace. Spring and Autumn Annals (Confucianism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Humankind struggles in frustration, longing in the world of the heart, because they have defiled the heart’s law. People strive to fill that longing through hobbies, art, knowledge, and love objects, but they are never fully satisfied. This is the sorrow and tragedy of the human condition since the Human Fall. (6:348, May 24, 1959)

After World War II, the trend developed, especially among American women, to worship Lucifer-like men. Who are they? Movie stars, singers, and actors… These people are last in line to enter heaven, yet women came to worship them. I have a vision for the arts far beyond secular art.

The secular world’s art is rotten, especially the recording artists and Hollywood set who are immersed in free sex. Many have contracted HIV/ AIDS. I am promoting absolute sex, and members of my ballet company should not be involved in immoral love affairs. It is a wedge to protect the American people from rotting away because of these artists. (339:152-53, December 10, 2000)

In America, you can watch movies on television 24 hours a day. You can watch any kind of movie: war movies, movies about love, even pornographic movies. Young people are readily attracted to them and influenced. Since they do not have a clear viewpoint on life or thought, they copy what they see in these movies.

Youth today live in a permissive environment and have abandoned traditional values that might restrain them from seeking out the stimulating things that they see in the movies. Since their parents do not pay them much attention, family ties are not strong enough to sway them.

Teachers and public officials avoid giving them proper education on these matters. Therefore, there is nothing to stop young people from trying free sex, drugs, violence—copying everything they see in the movies.

If this continues, the family will disappear and the world will soon be doomed… Therefore, we should quickly establish the standard of a new tradition for the building of a new culture. It is a most urgent matter for unifying the world. (241:197-98, December 26, 1992)

God’s heart of true love—to give and give more, and forget and forget again, to give unconditionally and live for the sake of others—is the foundation of the world of the heart. God’s ideal, out of which He created the world, began from His heart.

The arts, which spring from this Origin, should resemble this heart. Hence, in the world of art, there can be no barriers. Art cannot be used as propaganda or the instrument of a particular ideology.

Harmony and unity are its basic principles. Divisions and conflicts are the fruits of fallen nature. Accordingly, in the world of art, East and West should understand and accept each other through art whose character is universal and inclusive. (316:70-71, February 9, 2000)