In Defense of Passion

“Give me the luxuries of life and I will willingly do without the necessities.” – Frank Lloyd Wright

“When I find beautiful things, it feels as though they are necessary tools for my life. I can’t bear to have old junk around, disturbing the peace. Better a space be empty. But we have been here two years, and when I saw the chairs and rugs, I had to buy them for my sanity. Can you possibly understand that? It’s part of finishing a piece of art.”

The first quote above is attributed to the famous architect, Frank Lloyd Wright; the second is spoken by the fictional Frank Lloyd Wright in the historical novel, Loving Frank, by Nancy Horan.

My body responds with an overall tingling feeling of resonance to these words. If I were to ever consider acting, this latter quote is the one that would lead me to the craft. Every time I read it (I have the page marked), I want to act it, to speak it over and over, injecting just the right feeling and gestures and passion into this declaration.

These words capture a way of being that I sometimes feel but could not have articulated as well myself.

The articulation of being in love… with a rug or a chair, and with the art of which they are a part. The speaking of pure passion. The voice given to the inner necessity for beauty that obliterates the need for those things others consider necessary. The desire that leads to the decision to buy a piece of art rather than food for the month.

In the novel, fictional Frank gets into some trouble as he chooses his passion over responsibility; buying rugs rather than paying his contractors, for example. There are many who would consider this careless, thoughtless, selfish, and irresponsible. The arguments in favor of this perception are clear: We must take responsibility for our actions and follow things through, tending to the consequences of all we put into motion. “But what about the other side?” I hear my inner thoughts plead. I wish to stand up for passion and art and the truth that arrives in beauty. I’m more than willing to overlook Frank’s indiscretions in exchange for the joy of knowing someone out there followed his passion and created things truly beautiful, inspiring many along the way.

There are some who would say that beauty is all around us; and in all things. I disagree. I think something things are beautiful and some are not. I don’t think all art is equal; nor is all design; nor all visions. The truth that arrives in beauty has something to do with a sense of integrity; an internal order that may or may not be obvious; a whole that both exists within individual parts but is only complete within the relationships among these parts. It is the Gestalt of a thing, we could say, that makes it beautiful, or not. The ways in which the parts and whole reflect and enhance and create one another. Nature delivers beauty in many forms: The way snow gathers on a tree branch; a blooming rose; and the way the sun radiates its light through a series of clouds turning a blue sky coral. Sometimes, men and women create equally beautiful things.

In truth, I think responsibility and structure and form are almost as important as passion is for the creation of art. I also think, though, that many of us have an overdeveloped sense of obligation, duty, and responsibility in our lives; or equally common, overdeveloped fears. It is for this reason that I find myself wanting to be a fierce advocate for the passion embodied by both the real and fictional Frank. Sometimes, we need to at least allow for the urge to buy those must-have boots rather than pay the electric bill; or the urge to call-out for work not because we’re ill but because we just MUST paint; or to hang that erotic art on our living room wall even though everyone else disapproves. Giving voice to those artistic visions that arise from within is a necessary first step to creating art. Beauty is not created out of duty; nor is it perceived from a place of obligation (other than the obligation to beauty itself). To begin with, we must connect with our wild instincts and the fiery spirit within. For it is here that our capacity to perceive and to create beauty breathes its breath.

As we begin a new year, I want to encourage those who are inspired by beauty, those who can see it, and those who create it, to do just that. Whether it’s putting together a gorgeous outfit, carving a piece of furniture, arranging flowers, playing jazz, or juxtaposing colors on a canvas, find the time and space to do it. Create the time and space to do it. Build this into your New Year’s Resolutions. Or better yet, rather than creating resolutions out of perceived obligations such as “losing weight,” allow your passion for the truth that finds its home in beauty to inspire which resolutions you actually chose to implement for 2009.