This is more of a mind dump than any sort of refined thought about the nature of art and what makes art art. Some of this will most likely be wrong and I am fine with that.

Things are usually thought of as being on some sort of sliding scale between utility and art, or utility and utter gratuity. I don’t think things exist on that scale. I have seen Excel spreadsheets that could be considered art. I think the defining parameter for art is whether or not it is beautiful or not. In terms of beauty I think the next step is to say that a thing is beautiful when it is more of what it is.

Therefore a thing that is more of what it is, is more beautiful and therefore is more visible as art. Take a door. First we must define just what a door is. It is a thing that serves many purposes in its utility and how well it functions (opens and closes) must be taken into account. Then we have to look at just what it is to open and what it is to close. Two spaces are separated and a door serves to close them off from each other and then to unite them to each other by removing itself and allowing free passage. A door that is too small for a person to walk through may not be considered a beautiful if it’s utility is to let a person pass through it.

A closed door serves the utility of separating two spaces and from each other. Does the door stand out as the separation or does it blend in to the wall? Does it matter if it does either? How solid is it? How well does it separate? To what degree is it doing what it is intended to do? Is it more of what it is?

An open door joins two spaces. It gets itself out of the way and allows free passage. It creates a portal from one space to the another. Is the portal more of what it is?

So many things to consider if we are to say that a door is a piece of art. Indeed many doors swing wide or slip into their walls and have shape and form that is pleasing and they serve their function and are beautiful. A door can be art and it is an extraordinarily utilitarian thing. Utility is a function of what makes something art.

The beauty of a thing, how well it achieves completion of itself, is the measure of its artfulness.

I read a post on a blog that talked about the need for authority and it got me thinking.  The word “authority” gets used plenty in this life and majority of the time it has the connotation of being a bad word.  Or at the very least a word that invokes feelings of repression or control.  “I have authority over my children” and so forth.  When I usually think of that word I think that God has all authority.  He has all control.  And yet I am told that when we are fully in Christ, when we fully submit to his will, we have perfect freedom.  In other words it sounds like this; when I give up my own self-will, my freedom and allow God’s will to run my life then I will have a true and great freedom.  It sounds very silly to even write it out that way.  It can’t possibly be true.  I have to give up my freedom and what I get in return is freedom.

I later realized that this makes perfect sense.  And that very word authority is key.  I hope it goes without saying that “authority” describes something that an “author” has.  An author exercises his authority by doing a simple (but not easy) task.  He provides definition.  He says this thing is not that thing.  God, as author and creator, has the ability to say “this will-possessing person is not that will-possessing person.”  But is that a big deal?  You bet your sweet bippy.

I thought of the end of Terminator 2 when the T-1000 just won’t die.  They blow huge holes in him, freeze him and shatter him and he just melts back together.  He survived because his form was different from his surroundings.  He was defined.  He could run up the stairs or jump over random industrial equipment.  And how did they finally kill him?  The only way that actually made any sense.  They had to take away his definition.  He was thrown into a molten pit of metal.  He could no longer be defined from the metal around him.  It’s rather hard to run up the stairs if your legs have no definition and are the exact same as the world around.

Essentially, my will is the exact same as the T-1000.  Outside of the the one who authors my will it has no definition and is completely indistinguishable from the wills around it.  My will is lost in a molten pot, dead.  But when I am in the will of God, when his authorship is unchallenged, I have a definition to my life.  I am not like the other things out there.  I am more fully myself, a full individual.  I have freedom to move in the world.  I can run up stairs and make decisions and such.

This makes total sense.  I am not my wife.  Or my neighbor.  I am me.  But I am only me when God writes me.

This past Saturday night, I and my neighbor ventured forth and saw Inception. If you have yet to see this film and you don’t like to read any spoilers before seeing a film then you may want to stop reading right now.  Otherwise please continue.

I was captivated by the story and the images were amazing.  Paris rolling back on itself makes the process of creating realistic CGI look easy.  Why can’t you just take an image tell it to bend in a given way.  If the world outside my window were to roll up I would no longer be surprised since I saw it happen in the movie.  Needless to say if the images on the screen don’t impress you then please have your eyes checked.

There were two things about the film that struck me hard when I saw them.  The first was a line that Cobb has where he is talking to his wife and says that he must move on since she is only a projection of what he remembers about her and not the real thing.  In fact the line is almost a direct quote from A Grief Observed. This is quite the line of dialog and it slips by almost as an after thought.  Yet for Cobb it must be a huge revelation.  The woman who haunts his dreams is only a dim, cobbled together version of the woman who was his wife.  The funny thing is that Nolan didn’t have to state this truth to tell his story.  All Cobb really needed to say was that he had to move on because he knew his wife was dead.  But Nolan is not one to let a big chance at true motivation pass him by.  Cobb is a thinker and he must have concrete reasons for his actions.  The projection of Moll in his mind is just that, his own projection and not the real Moll.

The second thing that struck me was the end of the film.  The last image is causing quite a stir and it doesn’t take much searching to find many theories about the end of the film.  Most boil down to two.  Cobb is back in real life or Cobb is lost in limbo and has chosen to live the lie to get what he wants.  In some ways it’s funny that these options are set against each other.  They don’t have to be.  The connection to C.S. Lewis is his statement that should Christianity prove to be lies of the poets and so forth then he will happily choose to believe this lie than believe any other truth.  That admission is very shocking if you read a lot of Lewis.  Especially when set next to his statements about valuing the reality of his wife, Joy.

But I don’t think Lewis is being contradictory.  And neither is the movie.  If anything, the movie boldly enforces the notion that the reason we have dreams (any fantasy for that matter) is because we have some innate idea, an inception, that the real world isn’t all there is to this life.  Or at least that there are parts of this real life that are hidden and not normally accessible.  God is very real, just like a dream, but that doesn’t mean he is knowable, just like a dream.

Like Cobb I am powerfully drawn home and like Lewis, if that home is only a dream or myth then I’ll take that over reality any day.

This is story telling at it’s best.  Christopher Nolan takes his time and shows the discovered truth.  Thankfully his top still spins.

Blogging, like journaling , are for me anything but a consistent process.

Since school has ended I have worked on several films and even an MTV show. All in all work has been slow and not even close to being able to support my family. Granted, I am not even a year out of film school, but I had hoped that things would be better than they have been.

The last few months have been especially hard. We lost a child and nearly lost Kate as well. Experiencing an ectopic pregnancy is much worse than hearing about it. In addition, there was family friction that added to the heartbreak and loss. Please pray for us.

God provides his manna for the day and we are doing our best to let that be enough. I wish I could say that trusting in God alone was a joyous and easy thing for me, but my will is proving quite hard to surrender. I am a father and husband after all and it’s my responsibility to provide and protect. Of course I can do none of those things with any lasting effect and it is only through Christ who strengthens me that I can do anything at all. But knowing the truth and living the truth in word and deed are two very separate things.

I have work for today and I am grateful. Give us this day our daily bread.

Peace

I’ve got a toddler on my leg and a baby watching me, yet I will try to write something. If I’m ever going to begin writing on this blog again, this is the way it’s going to be. Snatched, imperfect moments that end in a creation pocked with grammar errors and typing mishaps. But, it’s a moment that’s still worthwhile to me, and hopefully to you who read it.

I don’t have much original to share, but daily, these dynamic, original things are filtered into my life like sun rays through the clouds. Here’s one from already this morning.

Peter called. He’s working on a film shoot this week and haven’t seen him much. The car is in the shop. We need a new transmission of all things. It’s thousands of dollars that we don’t have. A bit of encouragement: the import guy says another woman with a car like ours said she’s been having the same noise in her car for years and nothing bad as happened.

My normal self w0uld be all fears and frets right now, til my mind turned into devils and dust. But, because of some new grace poured into me, I’ve responded instead with: Even so. Even if we end up without a car. Blessed be the Name.

I snatched another moment to read Brother Lawrence and found some encouragement in the way. Brother Lawrence, in his life on this earth, was a monk in the 17th century. Here’s what he said that still reverberates into my small life now, years after he wrote it:

If you can leave the care of your affairs…and busy yourself only with praying to God, you will overthrow the power that presently governs your life and replace it with a better Power. He does not require a great deal of us; all He asks is a little rememberance of Him from time to time, a little worship.  Sometimes we should ask for His grace, and sometimes we should offer Him our sufferings. At other times we ought to thank Him for the grace He has given us and which He is working in us.

There’s a little grace: I got a moment ot write, and say these precious words once more. Perhaps they will seep a littler further into my soul.

Adn now, I’ve been given a felted egg, fresh cooked on Lucy’s cardboard stove, to eat. I better get to it before it goes cold.

- Katie

After much debate and many rewrites we are on the road to shooting our thesis film next week.  Writing this script has been an adventure that do not want to repeat.  I think I’ll do a comedy next time.  Not that it will be any easier, but comedies are by nature more forgiving; if it’s funny it can stay in.  Dramas on the other hand are much more stringent; does it fit with the moral theme, what is the moral theme?  Even if you know those things it getting others to understand just what you are talking about.  If the subject hits too close to home or the people critiquing the work have very defined ideas on the subject then you get lots of notes and not many of them truly helpful.  Story content is mistaken for structure and many rewrites ensue.

Don’t get me wrong.  I think the film will cause lots of conversation.  My guess is that there will be no middle ground; people will either love it of hate it.  If that is what happens then I will have achieved one of my goals in movie making: the anti-apathetic response.

If any of you who read this blog have any story ideas, leave’em in the comments.  I am looking for idea’s for a next film.

Peace.

(I ran spell check and “blog” was flagged as a misspelling….funny no?”

I have finished a very long month of working on film sets.  I guessed that production would be tiring, but experience is an excellent teacher and I have certainly been schooled.  Of course I got sick at the end of it all and am currently fighting off a sore thoat.  The projects should turn out great though.  One of the groups got a chance to shoot their project on the RED camera and the footage is just beautiful.  I’m a bit jealous, but our project turned out well anyway.

In other news, we have a new niece, Kaelyn Elizabeth Sillanpa.  She was born to Brad and Amy on Thursday the 2nd.  All three are doing well and should be home by Sunday or Monday.

Lucy and Elliot are doing quite well and are getting over the colds they had.

Grace and Peace

Lucy Therese is two years old today.  How much she’s grown in just two years! Two years ago, we were glad when she slept, filled her diaper and followed us with her eyes. One year ago, we were impressed that she could stand up and make funny faces at us. Now, we’re amazed at all her new delights.

Lucy loves to dance: quick, slow, jumping high, bending low. She marches, stamps her feet, lifts her legs, crosses her feet, twirls around, and recently mastered the curtsie. She does it all, and gets her inspiration from Balanchine’s The Nutcracker, Disney’s Fantasia and Topol’s Fiddler on the Roof.

She also loves to read. Some books, like Fuzzy Teddy and Goodnight Moon (“Night-night Moon”) she knows so well she can finish the sentences for us. Others, like Pooh’s Pot of Gold, Merry Christmas Curious George and Millie’s Secret, she pages through herself and tells the story in words that make lots of sense to her, but none to us yet.

Lucy has also grown into a loving big sister. The first thing she says when she wakes up is “Elliot” (pronounced “Edit,” by Lucy) and she runs to find him, give him a tender kiss on the head and say, “Heh-whoa Edit. Nice nap.” (translation: Hello Elliot, you had a good night’s sleep.) When Elliot cries, Lucy announces it loudly to make sure Mama doesn’t miss it. Then she pats him on the belly and says, “What’s wrong, Edit?” She helps Mama burp him by patting him on the back, retrieves spit-up rags for Mama when necessary, and also holds up toys for him to look at.

Today, Lucy woke up to a special breakfast: Blueberry Birthday Pie. She opened some gifts (books and a stepstool from Mama and Papa) and then the whole family went to the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum where we ran around, made big bubbles, ran through mirrored tunnels, played instruments and played with tons of other fun things. What a fun day for our active two year-old!

Happy birthday, Lucy Therese. May you bear the light of Christ all the days of your life, and like Saint Therese of Liseux, may you love the LORD more than anything else.

Things have been a bit testy in the Johnson household of late.  I have been working night security on a film set for the past two nights and Katie and Lucy have been sick.  I have really enjoyed being in an old museum with spooky halls and huge, empty rooms and old heating systems that make great zombie sneak attack noises.  I do have the luxury of looking at very expensive film equipment up close with no one looking over my shoulder and being afraid I’m gonna break it.  Of course I am smart enough to not touch it lest I do actually break it.

The film is called “Hopeful Notes” and it is being made by an Italian Production company and is set in Russia.  Who knew Grand Rapids could be Russia.  I am not there during the day so I am not actually on set when cameras are rolling, but I am getting paid so I don’t complain too much.

About Katie and Lucy being sick.  Please pray that they are feeling better soon.  We have changed bed linens about 4 times already due to over active sluices at both ends.  It doesn’t help that I haven’t been home at night when all the fun happens.

Elliot is not sick and is doing quite well.  Thank the Lord.

Peace.

Soon we will have a new (post-womb) member of the Johnson household.  Looking at Katie sparks the Low Rider song to flit through my brain.  My bet is that the crazy, kung-fu contortionist will be with us by the end of the week.  I’ll also lay money that this one will be 8 lbs plus.  Both mother and child are doing well.  Ron will be with us tonight, baring any more train delays.  He does get a free day in the Windy City in part on Amtrak’s dime and I think he will really enjoy himself.

Lucy is doing well.  She is acting a bit under the weather and that is not good, but at least she takes being sick in stride.  I fully expected that children acted on every impulse with great gusto and Lucy tempers herself with skill that belies her sub-two-year-old life.  She really is a joy to have as a daughter.

School has started up again (finally) and I am looking forward to being back in the swing of things.  That means I have to be very serious about writing.  Discipline has never been my strong suit especially when it’s of the self variety.   The classes we have this semester are Cinematography, Production Design, Screenwriting, Directing, Producing, Post Production and Artistic Vocation.  Where Art Voc was my favorite class last semester I am not looking forward to it this semester.  I’m sure Josh will be a good teacher, but I will forever wonder what might have been.

I’ll keep this blog updated with baby news when there is news to share.  (It’s funny that a blog site flags “blog” as a misspelled word.)

Peace to you.