This is the second in a series of posts titled The Conservative Arts taken from an address by Robert Shaw at Harvard University in 1981. If you have not read the previous post I hope you will take the time to do so prior to continuing with this post.

Shaw asks a series of questions: What are the meanings of art? What is it trying to tell us of [humanity]? What is [humanity] trying to tell us of [humanity itself]? . . . What may be the function or influence of art in a world gone schizophrenic, paranoid, masochistic? What does art show itself to be? Why is it important? How can it help us? (Blocker, 357-359)

In the next post we will consider the four answers that Mr. Shaw offers to these questions. In the meantime I would suggest that each of you answer these questions for yourself.

Shaw then follows this discussion with the question: And where does Religion meet the Arts? He then continues: Its very own task forces would prescribe that the gospel crusade with anything less than a choir of 4,000 “Just-as-I-yammers” is not merely underserving of prime time, but has only one foot in the stadium. Organized religion has learned well the lesson that from a T.V. studio or on the road a lot more apples are merchandised by serpents than by penitents (Blocker, 361).

Shaw then poses the question: Are the arts, then, simply tools of communication available to thief and fraud no less than saint? (Blocker, 362)

To be continued in the next post. I hope that you will join the conversation by leaving a comment on this blog website – http://humanbeingsanon.com.