John Vernon- The Ultimate Artist

To be moved by something, one must ultimately surrender to it. Lewis highlights this in An Experiment in Criticism:
We sit down before the picture in order to have something done to us, not that we may do things with it. The first demand any work of art makes upon us is surrender. Look. Listen. Receive. Get yourself out of the way (there is no good asking first whether the work before you deserves such a surrender, for until you have surrendered you cannot possibly find out (24).

Lewis encourages to be open-minded and forget about any pre-assumed thoughts or ideas about the artist(s) intention for their art; thus, by removing personal subjectivity, one can find a more full and intimate experience. He also makes it clear about God being the ultimate artist. He states, “Remember He is the artist and you are only the picture. You can't see it. So quietly submit to be painted---i.e., keep fulfilling all the obvious duties of your station (you really know quite well enough what they are!), asking forgiveness for each failure and then leaving it alone” (Collected Letters 1350). Could Lewis’s thoughts imply that God is the source of the tension between art being performed and art being presented. After all, God painted and created a world enriched with beautiful sunsets, landscapes, and people. The tension could arise from people trying to find the best means to understanding His beautiful creation(s).

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