I haven’t been able to put my finger solidly down on the reason why I haven’t enjoyed the artwork of Thomas Kinkade, the self-described “painter of light.” Until now.
If you like his work, please accept my apology. It could just be a matter of personal taste, but my dislike centers on something that maybe he has created very unintentionally. Yet, on inspection of his many works, I find something very untrue about it. Something saccharine. Something short of Truth. Do you?
This brings me to a great commentary on truth. As NT Wright says, “Truth happens”. It is not a matter of whether I speak correctly of something factual. “The table is made of wood,” for instance. In the case of corresponding evidence, for an authentic reality, we may speak what is true. But most of life doesn’t flesh out that way. Really, none of the biggest questions do.
So, perhaps, Truth is a verb.
I appreciated N. T. Wright’s thoughts on beauty and truth (see short video). I’d like to hear your thoughts about it.
I can’t access the video. Anyone else having trouble?
I understand what you mean about Kinkade’s art. Saccharine may be a good description, but I think of it more as a true sugar overload. I like it in small doses (i.e., encountering it elsewhere rather than in my own home). I like the Beauty & the Beast pic above, but the cartooning of the Disney park scene seems somehow unnecessary, so that one falls flat for me.
Maybe he tells the truth about what many of us imagine?
Maybe he does. I’ll try to get the video running. That will really help pull the whole post together for you (and others).
Okay, watching the video helps.
I agree with Wright that truth is something other than pure brutality or pure sentimentality. I think about this issue more in terms of music than the visual arts (though film is definitely on my radar too). When I worked in a Christian bookstore ten, twelve years ago I encountered my share of Kinkade paintings as well as sentimental music, pushed as “truth.” Still, I was able to special order some really interesting experimental rock with an authentic (to me, anyway) take on the Christian walk.
Life is hard sometimes. Thankfully we have a hope that doesn’t depend on our being happy about it.