Here is a recent article published in Public Discourse, the journal of the Witherspoon Institute, by Margarita Mooney Clayton of the Scala Foundation, entitled Graced Imagination: Recovering True Creativity in the Age of Authenticity.

What does this cultural moment have to do with competing philosophies about art? Why does art (real, beautiful art, not just self-expression) matter to the renewal of our culture?

Drawing on the works of eminent scholars such as Jacques Maritain, Brad Elliott, OP, St. Thomas More Stepnowski, OP, artist Ioana Belcea and Dr Tyler Graham, teacher and former student of Rene Girard, I argue that there has been a steady shift from traditional conceptions of beauty, which saw art as participating in and revealing divine order, to more modern, romantic views of beauty that reject tradition and celebrate self-expression above all else.

Modern art and architecture reject traditional harmony and form, intentionally breaking with the past and seemingly deliberately disregarding beauty. This revolution in art is a sign of an even more profound revolution in the understanding of the human person and the desire to change Western civilization radically.

How can we respond? I argue that recovering the idea and practice of art as practical virtue, and a participation in God’s governance by which we act as co-creators in the redemptive work of God is essential not only to transform the contemporary culture to one that reflects divine beauty, it also and essential element in the healthy formation of young people, in the design of our places of worship, that will have a positive impact on and our everyday lives.
Read the full article here.