Loving The Art And Not The Artist.

Insight 52 | 700 Wives and 300 Concubines. A Failure Of A Parent: 

The Wisest Man In History.

Someone with many sins to his name: Idolatry, Pride, Lust, the list goes on.

Ladies and Gentlemen. A hero to many, a philosopher for the ages, and an artist in many regards of the word, I present to you King Solomon,  the son of Israel's greatest King, David, and more importantly, the “wisest man” in history (besides the critically acclaimed Jesus, of course).

Now it likely seems strange to you, as it did to me, how the man with the title of “wisest” is also a man so guilty and sinful. How does a man who penned Proverbs, the greatest piece of wisdom literature in existence, the author of many Psalms, as well as one of the most brutally honest reflections of life without divine purpose, Ecclesiastes?

These questions were followed by an internal wrestle: how do I love his work, give it so much credit, and yet admit the man behind it was flawed, human?

It got me thinking: what if we were all more willing and able to love the art, even if we don't love the artist?

For clarification purposes, it is highly unlikely that Solomon slept with all the princesses and concubines within his purview (the math simply does not math here). Instead, it is more probable he had them under his name in harems for the sake of the political alliances they earned him as well as the status that came along with their “marriage”.

With that set to the side, to better appreciate his title as “wisest in all history”, we must understand its origin. According to Jewish tradition and sacred texts, after Solomon became king of Israel, the Lord met him in a dream and offered him whatever he wanted, to which Solomon answered with:

 “‘I, your servant, among the people you have chosen, a people so vast that it cannot be numbered or counted. Give your servant, therefore, a listening heart to judge your people and to distinguish between good and evil. For who is able to give judgment for this vast people of yours?’”  - 1 Kings 3:8-9

The Lord, pleased by Solomon's request for wisdom, granted and additionally gifted his reign with many riches and fame. From here on out, his fame would precede him, and many would travel from far places to visit and speak with the sage himself. And yet, the man was led astray in his later years as he allowed his heart to become distracted. This hero was human, too:

For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. - 1 Kings 11:4

In his old age, the artist lost sight of his art. And he turned away from the very good and true things he had so intelligently and poetically strung together, a phenomenon known as Solomon's Paradox: the ability to give great advice but not necessarily take it. This is a warning against complacency. We should never allow our comfort to lead to passivity, but instead be active in our pursuit of the good. Beyond this, it is also a call to realize that, while someone might fall, what they produce may still be commendable (even more so if they get back up, dust themselves off, and improve as a result).

It's being able to love the art even when the artist has fallen short.

Now speaking on art itself, we must understand that there is Art, Artist, and Audience. Each plays a pivotal role in how societies function, and in explicit and implicit ways, these three are continuously engaged in feedback loops with one another.

• Artists create Art that Audiences respond to.

• The Audience then reviews the art and appraises, critiques, and opines.

• Depending on the Audience's appraisal, Artists create more of their work or cease entirely in their Art form.

All this to say, we, as part of this system, are at liberty to provide an opinion (regardless of the opinion of someone else). We are allowed and should encourage critical thinking to sharpen our ability to discern.

The invaluable insight here: We have the ability to choose and separate response, thought, and opinion for something from our response, thought, and opinion of the one creating it.

Now, to be clear, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and likewise, a bad tree is incapable of producing any good fruit, but calling a rose red is not a sin but a fact. Admitting a “good point” is a “good point” isn’t either. It’s giving credit where credit is due.

While I am not saying never check the source, I am encouraging us to be more willing to identify when something is beautiful or worthwhile, even if we hold fierce views about its origin. This is a call to taste a tree's fruit to determine its quality, if needed. While some of it may “look” nice, the exercise of testing it to measure its evidence of the good (and I mean true ethical good) will determine whether the art is worthy of credit.

We are too quick to judge, cancel, and ignore within our relationships, comments sections, and yes, political conversations, while forgetting that it “should not” matter if what is said is left, right, or tilted as long as it aligns itself with the straight and correct truth.

Now, the conversation on truth is a topic for a separate article, but for now, a reliable filter is one that encourages the true, honorable, pure, lovely, commendable, and excellent things of this life. Realize that your ability to say something is “good” should never be tied to what you think or “feel” about an artist, art, or other in the audience, but instead to that which is truly worthwhile.

There is Art, Artist, and Audience, a triangle of exchange.

Yes, its ok to not always have an opinion, but you should be at liberty to hold one, particularly those in line with the truth, while not paying mind to how you may “feel” about the other two in the three-sided polygon.

We have the ability to disagree but still love. We also have the capacity to recognize when someone has fallen, but their work still has merit. 

In fact, we should do so more often.

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While I do not agree with, align with, or accept the man who Solomon became in his old age, the Wise King has an abundance of good things to say throughout his lifetime and before his fall. 

As a result, it is possible to Love The Art, But Not The Artist. We can acknowledge the value in a creation while realizing you may disagree with the individual behind it.

Radical thought: Don’t disregard treasure just because it's in a jar of clay.

- Making The Most Of Being Curious

Daniel J. Cuesta

Sources:

A Call to Discernment: Do not lose sight of wisdom and discretion. - Proverbs 3:21 

A Filter For Truth: Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just… think about these things. - Philippians 4:8 

The Dignity of Imperfect Vessels: We have this treasure in jars of clay… 2 Corinthians 4:7 

We All Fall Short Sometimes: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. -Romans 3:23

Judge Rightly: Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment. - John 7:24 

What Solomon Wrote: Link 

Solomon's Paradox: Link