# Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?



## davidsuggs (Aug 7, 2008)

The most recent American Vision newsletter has me thinking. Does art imitate life or does life imitate art? To a certain extent I know that art is ambiguous as a term. The original creation was truly art and all of fallen creation since that time has tried to poorly copy it. I am trying to avoid here, any notions of Platonic forms. Does the history of art through the years demonstrate a key to perfection that life is trying to imitate or vice versa?


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## py3ak (Aug 7, 2008)

> Does the history of art ... demonstrate a key to perfection



Yes. When Bach addresses an idea by Vivaldi, you have perfection.


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## davidsuggs (Aug 7, 2008)

But what I am trying to get to is this: I know we are totally depraved, but since the fact that we (even atheists) know that we are not perfect, we also must grant there is an absolute standard of perfection (presuppositionalism, i know). But if we innately know there must be that standard of goodness, can we, as humans, (as artists through the years have tried) gain any insight to what that looks like in artistic expression, apart from what we have in the Word?


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## JBaldwin (Aug 7, 2008)

This is not really a direct answer to the question in the OP, but I couldn't help but throw this thought into the discussion. While the pastor was preaching in Genesis 1 this past Lord's day, he discussed the words "formless" and "void". Then he pointed out that in Genesis 1, you see God forming things: the light and darkness, the separation of water and dry land, and vegetation. Then you see God filling the void: the creation of the stars, sun, planets and moon in the light and darkness, the creation of sea creatures to fill the waters and birds to fill the skies, and then finally the creation of animals and man to fill the land. 

When I pondered this a bit, it made me think of how artists create. We imitate our God. We start with formless things and make them into beautiful things and then we decorate. A painter starts with blank canvass, then makes a background which he fills. The potter starts with clay then forms it, fires it and usually decorates it with glaze or pictures. We are artistic, because we are made in the image of God, and we imitate when we create.


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