Our theme at the Light House Cultural Center is “Redeeming the Arts”.  By inviting artist to this great challenge we are acknowledging that something is wrong with the arts. Over the years art has been a dominant force in influencing popular culture and other spheres of our society.

In the last century and especially in the most recent years this powerful force, we call art, has  been hijacked from what it was initially intended to do and is now doing the exact opposite.  Art was intended to reflect the beauty and truth of its creator; instead, it has become so twisted and perverted that it is corrupting and plaguing our society with more abominations than we can fathom. 

Art, in its many forms throughout the world, has been used to propagate evil agendas to a malformed culture of darkness. We see it in music, in dance, in painting, photography, cinema, poetry, etc...  What was once intended to bring life now brings death, and our youth are insatiably craving more and more of this filth.  In order for our generation to change course, we must realize that art is in urgent need of redemption.

God, who is the “Master Artist” and the Creator of all things, used His imagination and ingenuity in creating the beautiful forms, textures, colors, shapes, and lines when He designed this magnificent planet we live on, and the universe all around us.  Everything has its own origin which is in God the Creator.  Everything has a purpose and functions in an order that displays the harmony of divine art.  This universe is nothing less than a glorious painting of the Master Artist Himself.  As children of the Artist we are to express this beauty and truth, not out of obligation, but out of love.  Out of the love that we have for God and our neighbor.  We are to have the willingness to share the beauty and truth we have come to know with everyone else so that they can get a glimpse of our experience and share in our joy.

We are not to use our creativity to create an art that is cheap, tawdry, shallow and lacking in substance.  This is where our motives come into question.  Do we have pure motives or have our motives become defiled?  Is my art an act of love to glorify the Master Artist or is it an act of lust for power and fame to glorify self?  This generations' music, poetry and paintings are not those of Handel’s, Blake’s or van Gogh’s that will transcend centuries and still be worth listening to, reading and seeing years later.

Who will want to listen to Kanye West “Drunk and Hot Girls” or Fergie’s, “My Humps” ten years from now? What aboout smearing ones excrement on a canvas and calling that art, or worse yet, some degenerate like Paris Hilton prostituting herself on camera and calling that photography?  How low have we descended?  Is there any hope?  I don’t know, but there sure is a lot of work, if we want to see a change…the work is weeping, praying, and repenting for our generations’ iniquities…the work begins now.  Please join me and millions around the world as we try to make a positive influence in our communities, in our cities and in our countries.  

By:  Samuel Bistrian

September 15, 2007