DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.13852#0049
»
i8 CREATION OF A WORLD-CENTRE.
generally understood. Its mission is now larger, and the demand for works
of art is ever increasing. Therefore the artist, in spite of national ties and
sentiments, is beginning to work on the widest lines that appeal to the whole
world; and as scientific accomplishments have been blended, so the blending
of painting and sculpture, music and the drama, has already begun.
Music and the drama are so intimately connected with painting, sculp-
ture and architecture that one may say they form the limbs of one divine
body whose soul infuses the same immortal ideals and inspirations into sound,
colour, form and line. Drawn from the deepest sentiments of the human
soul, they give to man a concentrated symbol of life, appealing to the highest
forms of love, morality and justice; together they merge into a single voice,
that inspires, uplifts and appeals to all mankind.
The glorious achievements of men in the past, their high aspirations
expressed in colour and form, their symphonic dreams of melodies that arouse
and elevate the soul, their noble, inspiring songs of praise and love, must be
brought together to enrich our future, and to strengthen our desire to infuse
a new life of nobility and purity into every part of the mighty, world-embra-
cing figure of humanity. The more appealing are the arts, the nearer they
approach divine truth, — a truth which lives within the soul of every living
creature, and which when interpreted through the genius of the artist, unites
humanity and uplifts its soul to a clearer vision of God.
It is through the arts that the Divine in humanity becomes more defined.
It assumes more harmonious proportions, more righteous animation, more
precision of purpose. Therefore the harmonious merging of the arts in one
another is urgently needed for the righteous fulfilment of a divine mission that
appeals to all men throughout the world.
High achievements in painting and sculpture, music and the drama have
often become national heirlooms, which not only show great technical ability
in producing form, colour and sound, but also convey the deeper religious and
moral inspirations of the time in which they were conceived. For the artistic
genius, to say nothing of his exquisite technique, seeks to gather up and
objectify the noblest ideals of his age, and bequeaths to mankind divinely
beautiful creations.
But it is now becoming necessary for artists to unite in the larger
field of a more world-embracing mission with a broader horizon than the
national one. The artist cannot always produce his best work in his father-
land; he needs to study the whole world of human sympathies, and incor-
porate them in his work. His task becomes grander as his aims widen out
through unity of endeavour and purpose, and it may safely be said that no
true artist in sculpture or painting, in architecture, the drama, literature,
music, poetry or design, feels himself bound or hampered by state laws,
social obligations, religious rules or motives. The painter, sculptor, dra-
matist, musician, as well as the architect, poet and writer are all forced to
i8 CREATION OF A WORLD-CENTRE.
generally understood. Its mission is now larger, and the demand for works
of art is ever increasing. Therefore the artist, in spite of national ties and
sentiments, is beginning to work on the widest lines that appeal to the whole
world; and as scientific accomplishments have been blended, so the blending
of painting and sculpture, music and the drama, has already begun.
Music and the drama are so intimately connected with painting, sculp-
ture and architecture that one may say they form the limbs of one divine
body whose soul infuses the same immortal ideals and inspirations into sound,
colour, form and line. Drawn from the deepest sentiments of the human
soul, they give to man a concentrated symbol of life, appealing to the highest
forms of love, morality and justice; together they merge into a single voice,
that inspires, uplifts and appeals to all mankind.
The glorious achievements of men in the past, their high aspirations
expressed in colour and form, their symphonic dreams of melodies that arouse
and elevate the soul, their noble, inspiring songs of praise and love, must be
brought together to enrich our future, and to strengthen our desire to infuse
a new life of nobility and purity into every part of the mighty, world-embra-
cing figure of humanity. The more appealing are the arts, the nearer they
approach divine truth, — a truth which lives within the soul of every living
creature, and which when interpreted through the genius of the artist, unites
humanity and uplifts its soul to a clearer vision of God.
It is through the arts that the Divine in humanity becomes more defined.
It assumes more harmonious proportions, more righteous animation, more
precision of purpose. Therefore the harmonious merging of the arts in one
another is urgently needed for the righteous fulfilment of a divine mission that
appeals to all men throughout the world.
High achievements in painting and sculpture, music and the drama have
often become national heirlooms, which not only show great technical ability
in producing form, colour and sound, but also convey the deeper religious and
moral inspirations of the time in which they were conceived. For the artistic
genius, to say nothing of his exquisite technique, seeks to gather up and
objectify the noblest ideals of his age, and bequeaths to mankind divinely
beautiful creations.
But it is now becoming necessary for artists to unite in the larger
field of a more world-embracing mission with a broader horizon than the
national one. The artist cannot always produce his best work in his father-
land; he needs to study the whole world of human sympathies, and incor-
porate them in his work. His task becomes grander as his aims widen out
through unity of endeavour and purpose, and it may safely be said that no
true artist in sculpture or painting, in architecture, the drama, literature,
music, poetry or design, feels himself bound or hampered by state laws,
social obligations, religious rules or motives. The painter, sculptor, dra-
matist, musician, as well as the architect, poet and writer are all forced to