“OF ART WORK AND FRAMES: IN PRAISE OF BOUNDARIES”
“BEECH”
“Where my imaginary line
Bends square in woods, an iron spine
And pile of real rocks have been founded.
And off this corner in the wild,
Where these are driven in and piled,
One tree, by being deeply wounded,
Has been impressed as Witness Tree
And made commit to memory
My proof of being not unbounded.
Thus truth’s established and borne out,
Though circumstanced with dark and doubt—
Though by a world of doubt surrounded.
THE MOODIE FORESTER” (Robert Frost)
My wife and I went to a Civil War reenactment. We visited with friends and had a good time.
There were various crafts and activities in the town square. My sweetheart talked me into trying my hand at “spin art.” I would call “spin art” “art for those who can’t do art.” In other words, it was precisely the sort of (non)art I could do!
I was advised as to what colors to use, and where to drizzle the colors. With a great deal of supervision, I did a fairly good Frisbee, although it looked a bit like what I imagine an L.S.D.-induced vision of an eye might look like. As I said, I am not an artist.
The seller of the Frisbee probably felt sorry for me, and let me do a little sheet of paper for free. It looked outstandingly mediocre when I was done with it. However, my radically generous sweetheart said it was good. Since she is a good artist, I was very humbly pleased.
However, I thought she was going more than a bit overboard when she wanted to buy a frame for it. When my Princess gets an idea in her head, she is harder to stop than a Trane—or a train.
I thought that buying a frame for my spin junk . . . , I mean spin art . . . was a mistake. The fact that she had bought the frame at The Dollar Tree (where everything really does cost a dollar) somewhat mollified my stingy attitude. And I have to admit that, with a nice little frame around it, my spin art did look much better. Frames don’t make art, but they can make art look better.
I’ve never liked boundaries, but this little vignette helped me to think differently about boundaries, borders, and frames. Perhaps frames or borders don’t simply limit art. Perhaps they enhance art.
In life also, frames or borders are important. In Psalm 16:6, the psalmist says, “The boundary lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.” Apparently, the psalmist didn’t simply love his territory. He even loved the limits of his territory.
I have boundaries, limits, frames, in connection with my body, my mind, my time, my finances. Do I love the limits? Or, am I always wanting more?
That great philosopher Clint Eastwood said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” Yes! Perhaps that’s a huge part of the art of living.
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