The Disappearance of Natural Beauty and the Fakeness Epidemic Part 2

God’s magnificent creation has throughout human history been the main inspiration to what we build and create because we, especially in the first world, used to be much closer to nature. What we produce now is, more and more, a reflection of the new technological, industrial and scientific era we live in. Moreover, that has opened the door far wider to the decline of beauty and the current fakeness epidemic. This affects all areas, even the artistic field, which this blog is about.

All over the world, we can see the amazing architecture that has survived to the third millennia and the incredible things built without our recent technology. In the time when Christianity reigned in the west, the cathedrals alone were majestic and awe-inspiring as the aim was to honor God and His beautiful creation with the high towers that, in reverence, points to heaven. The stunning castles remind us of the era of kings, queens and nobilities. Who does not love the old architecture of medieval Europe? Add to this the tall glass-stained windows, looming chandeliers, the gargoyles and angels carved out of stone. It puts you in a state of wonder and a longing for a time gone by when they created astonishing splendor with craftsmanship that we never see constructed today.

Beginning around the 1950s-60s, architecture began to decline in grandeur. Buildings became more square, less ornamental, and less individualistic. Mass production of materials began as well as the construction of neighborhoods of nearly identical houses. In the US, so many new houses, if not most, look like big Lego blocks put together, except, unlike Lego the most common color is some type of mix of gray and brown making it intensely unattractive. We see “shoebox” houses and square high-rise offices, apartments, and skyscrapers, with zero aesthetic appeal like our factories. I can’t think of one that is anything but an eyesore! It reminds you of Mordor in the Lord of the Rings. It would not surprise me if they were the inspiration for Tolkien. We understand the need for factories, but why do they have to be so hideous? Not to mention brutalist architecture seen in the J. Edgar Hoover FBI building in Washington D.C. It has even been ranked as the ugliest building in the U.S. Add to this, commercial signs that are a monstrosity and dangerous distraction while driving, and strip malls that offer convenience for consumerism while abandoning nice appearances.

Consequently, ugliness has become the status quo. And you cannot escape it. Some areas/neighborhoods/towns/cities have far more older buildings, and some have less. I think we all know the difference of being in an older picturesque little town that have most of the same buildings it had 100 years ago, or a well-kept farm from the turn of the last century versus driving into a strip mall or going to a concrete block shopping mall. All this is no small matter because our surroundings deeply affect us.  Beauty enhances our well-being and the desire to take care of it for the simple reason that we like it.

The same goes for paintings. Before the 20^{th h} century, it took skills to be an artist and the word “art” was a synonym for “beauty.” It was a soft beginning because you could still see nice paintings, and it still took talent for painters such as Monet and Van Gogh. Eventually abstract art, with people like Jackson Pollock, became in vogue where it is not necessary to have artistic proficiency, and anything can be counted as art. Some people tested this recently by having a kid splash paint all over a canvass, put it on display in a prominent art gallery without revealing the painter’s age, and people bought into it thinking it was some type of sophisticated masterpiece. Art has gone from being a beautiful depiction of the natural world to anything goes. What you need now is marketing skills over artistic talent. It has gone from Michelangelo’s paintings of the Sistine chapel in the early 1500s, which took 4 years to do, to Duchamp’s fountain in 1917. This was a urinal that Marcel Duchamp presented as “art” in a new era of conceptual art. That was about abstract ideas, not skill or beauty. One of the pioneers of pop-culture in this area was Andy Warhol who took things like Cambell soup cans and Marilyn Monroe, added colors, and mass-produced them. A recent example of this trend is how, here in the US, a banana plastered on a canvas by duct tape was just sold for 6.2 million dollars. Defenders of modern art consider this deep while classical paintings, statues, and so forth, are for many too outdated. There are still a lot of people who can paint with serious talents and do fantastic work, but it is no longer a requirement. Likewise, beauty is no longer a synonym with art nor the goal of it. Topping all this is of course AI art which is openly artificial. I will return to the issue of AI in part 3.

Speaking of paintings and the decline of art the opening ceremony for the summer Olympics in France 2024 is another prime example. Among the many depravities it displayed, they openly mocked the Last Supper painted by Leonardo DaVinci. See for instance  Paris goes dark day after ‘debauched’ Olympics opening ceremony | World (christianpost.com). To do something that offensive is in Christianity considered Satanic. But now we live in an era where Satanism is also deemed ok, and many cheer it on. Satanists are strangely not labeled as a “hate group” despite taking their name from the Bible which is explicit about what it stands for. Some are just atheists doing what they can to mock us, which is exactly what the devil does in the Bible as well. So, they are following him in his footsteps whether they believe in him or not.

The disappearance of beauty has also been diminished in clothes. Way back in history there were national costumes/traditional clothing around the world with intricate design and labor put into it. Also, think of the stunning dresses in the renaissance. Fashion has of course changed throughout history, but it really started going downhill in the 80-90’s. Even as far as the 60’s you had amazing clothes and there were new styles all the way into the 80’s. Though there are great clothes today too, the deterioration is still obvious. For instance, you can go to the store in your pajamas, jeans are sold with holes in them, guys with sagging pants, and many women barely wear anything in today’s prevalent desperation to be sexy. In fact, Kanye West’s new wife just went naked to the Grammys. She wore nothing under an all see-through “dress.” Classiness has been replaced by extreme immaturity mixed with decadence where nothing is sacred. It is all a reflection of a degenerating moral climate. In fact, Spirit Airlines just instituted a dress code because of the problem of lewd text on t-shirts and sweaters and the overall frequency of inappropriate clothing. Dressing better enhances everyone’s well-being and comfort level and doing the opposite has a correlating negative effect.

The fashion industry has seemingly also run out of ideas of what to do because in the high-end runways there are increasingly absurd inventions firmly separated from beauty and anything everyday people would wear. It looks like they have reached a dead end. Clothes are also mass produced and outsourced where handmade clothes can’t compete. Most importantly, many of our clothes are made of synthetic fabrics. Just as processed food is poisonous, the materials of today’s clothes also contain substances that are toxic for us to wear.

Music is not exempt from the fakeness epidemic. Autotune is now used on a regular basis by many. In other words, it is ok to cheat. This is done in various degrees and besides autotuning, famous people also often use other people’s voices and pass them on as their own. Recall Milli Vanilli back in 1990, when their lip syncing at a concert was exposed. It caused outrage and destroyed their careers. Now, it is commonplace. Jennifer Lopez has a song in which she sings “I’m real and what you get is what you see” which is exactly what you don’t get because she is not the one singing. It is normalized now for stars like her, Rhianna, Brittney Spear and others to pretend that they sing all their own music. In the same manner many stars are also often credited with being part of writing it, even if it was just one single line. Beyonce is someone who not only does that but, at President Obama’s inauguration in 2013, she sang the national anthem, except she didn’t sing it. It was pre-recorded and she was lip synching. The only reason to perform live is to sing live—especially at a Presidential inauguration! It caused some uproar, but her career went on as usual and she even defended it and was “proud” for not singing live. She blamed it on not enough rehearsal time with the band. So, a professional star like her can’t handle that? Plus, that is not an excuse. If you cannot sing live, don’t pretend to do so because that is insane and insulting to the audience. It is also typical that certain people, with the right connections, status, and popularity, get away with anything. Can you imagine going to see an opera singer lip-syncing, or selling a record where someone else is singing but they pretend that is not the case? No. Because in that genre the whole point is the talent, skill and beautiful music. Back in the heyday of rock music, as well as now, seeing a rock band or a singer like Bob Dylan, they would never lip-synch. Hitting a perfect note wasn’t, or isn’t, even the point. The combination of live music, lyrics, and a connection with the audience, was, and is, the point for those who do not participate in the fakeness epidemic.

Music is one of the best things in life and it should be noted that it has been around since the beginning of creation. God answered Job out of the whirlwind by asking him where he was when He laid the foundations of the world. He said,

“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding, who set its measurements, since you know? Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7 NAS)

Everything we hear, see, eat, do and believe affects us which is why we should make truth and natural beauty a priority. God does. He is author of truth and both the architect and artist of the universe.

In just this way God also cares about what we create. For instance, he was intricately involved in how they were to build the first Tabernacle, the Temple and Noah’s ark. Every little detail mattered.

Most of all, true beauty is the result of a mind that is true and right. Righteousness comes first. Superficial beauty without underlying ethical priorities does not please God. It does the opposite. The prophet Jeremiah said,

“Woe to him who builds his house without righteousness and his upper rooms without justice, Who uses his neighbor’s services without pay And does not give him his wages, Who says, ‘I will build myself a roomy house With spacious upper rooms, And cut out its windows, Paneling it with cedar and painting it bright red.’ Do you become a king because you are competing in cedar? Did not your father eat and drink, and do justice and righteousness? Then it was well with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; Then it was well. Is not that what it means to know Me? Declares the LORD.” (Jer 22:13-16, NAS)

Righteousness and beauty are intertwined and inseparable. Look at the heavens, the stars, the moon, then the earth and the trees, flowers and so on. Everything God has created is beautiful. Righteousness rules in Heaven, which is the ultimate beautiful place, designed by God. Ours pale in comparison although Earth is also incredible. But here we also have sin and corruption which is not allowed to enter Heaven and destroy it. It is God’s home and reserved for all who choose God in this life. In other words, righteousness gives birth to real beauty. That is why we feel closer to God when we are surrounded by nature. Creation reflects the Creator just like brutalist architecture reflects its architect. One elevates our senses, the other one does not, and it is not an unimportant sidenote. The growing disconnect with the natural world goes hand in hand with the disappearance of beauty. I believe this is a direct result of our increased divorce from God which is the root cause of the fakeness epidemic.