I came across some interesting quotes in the local county newspaper this week from a young playwright, Olgethorpe University student Will Carter, who recently won first prize in the Agnes Scott College Writer's Festival. He describes his winning play "Line Please" as "an absurdist comedic critique of modernity," sourcing Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground as his literary inspiration. Carter goes on, "I hate that in the modern world, we have to know everything; we must have a manual for life. I think mystery is a beautiful thing. As a Christian, I believe in a mysterious God, which I think is absolutely fantastic."
Now I am by no means a literarian - frankly, I am a buffoon when it comes to books, especially fiction - so it is impossible for me to relate his work with that of Dostoyevsky, but from what I understand of the Russian his works often probe the role of psychology of man in the modern (present) world and the decreasing role of spirituality, and often promote the ability of the modern man to accommodate the religious moralities of Christianity. Carter's thoughts indeed seem to wander similar philosophical territory.
The idea, though, that God and Modernism, or modernity in general, cannot be reconciled is difficult to accept. Faith has a place in modern life if you choose to provide it. The real problem I have with Carter's statements is the value he places on religion relative to knowledge. It is no sin to be mindful of the world in which you live, and combining factual knowledge of that world with a strong spiritual base can be entirely beneficial; as religion is a choice, so too is the application of science in your own individual spirituality. God can, in essence, remain mysterious in the presence of Modernism.
Do you agree? Disagree? What are your ideas? Did I misinterpret Carter's statements?
^^^Le Corbusier attempted to add a sense of "mystery" to his Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France (1954).
how does the saying go... that science tells us how and God tells us why?
ReplyDeletei think the playwright is referring to modernism in the sense of "modern life", not so much literary modernism or the modernist movement. but... notes from underground is an existentialist piece, which would be the opposite of a life manual, right?
He is referring to modern life (that's why those definitions below are so helpful - people use the word in many ways). I use the proper term Modernism because the movement itself is associated with a rejection of religion and a more "industrial" existence, but that isn't always the case, as Corb shows...can't really comment on the writings though, I'll have to read up on it some more!
ReplyDeleteHmmm...nice analysis, Mr. Delaney, and very apropos photos.
ReplyDeleteI do find it interesting that Carter finds the idea of a mysterious God 'absolutely fantastic.' Seems like an odd choice of words. Regardless, I do agree that the goal of religious architecture--modern or not--should be to create an atmosphere of mystery and majesty, a sense of unknowing and "something beyond ourselves."
Science is the art of knowing, religion is the art of trusting. And as I understand it, religion is not meant to be fully understood, but continuously interpreted and adapted to the needs of the current age.
I think as long as there is mystery in science (how the universe began, if there are others out there, etc.) there will be a place for religion to provide a place to reflect on these potentially unknowable mysteries, and come to terms with life as it is.
I agree. To have one, you don't have to reject the other - both can adapt.
ReplyDeleteHe suggests: I don’t want to “know” God (that’s easy – could you if you wanted to?) – I just want to believe in a God (gods) and prefer that God be my personal God as I prefer to envision him – in his case “mysterious” (also easy).
ReplyDeleteNothing new there and thus quite well received. Assemble a crowd of preferences and you get secular religions – Catholics, Baptists, Calvinists, Lutherans, Wicca, Voodoo, Greek and Roman pantheons, etc…
And, according to most, if your preference is not their preference, you are doomed to a spectrum of punishments, from bad karma to eternal damnation.
Consistent though is the existence of, or desire or need for God in the human psyche. Each seeks a path
Can Modernism lead to a spiritual discovery or connection with that which cannot be said and that which we cannot know and that that is all things?
Blackberries
Greg
wow, so early in your blog you've come to a pretty major crux, a crossroads of sorts for a designer: (stepping away from modernism as an architectural historical period for a moment) So if Design is thought before making, I think standing behind that curtain of Thought is what you Believe, and that Believer behind the curtain is making the decisions...and I guess the believer believes either there is Something,some Other we're a part of (or, in some religions, inexplicably not a part of) or the believer believes there is Nothing.
ReplyDeleteI think chasing the Sublime is where it's at. Sometimes Modernism caught some of it. Ronchamp, sure. That feeling comparable to looking up at the layers of winking stars. The walk up a mountainside. The stormy sea.
So: Can you plan someone's spiritual discovery with architecture? Can you represent Mystery in the built environment?
Modernism may celebrate the Narcissist in us too much to evoke these feelings...
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ReplyDeleteVery poetic, Brian, you can tell that being married to an author has rubbed off on you! ;)
ReplyDeleteModernism can be a narcissistic endeavor (Zaha) but I think that technology and materials that once limited modernism to this almost industrial, orthagonal rationalism have caught up to intent - lightness, efficiency, cleanliness, warmth, ethereality - in the works of firms like Coop Himmelblau, etc...
I think you're on to something on all counts, JD!
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