How the arts keep us human

What is it about art that makes us re-evaluate our faith?

On the SoulPepper stage, you’ll currently find Angels in America, a “profoundly humanist production” about the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Tony Kushner’s two-part play was written in the 1990s as a social justice response to the struggles facing those diagnosed as HIV-positive. I had the last-minute opportunity to see Part I: The Millennium Approaches on Monday night. Reading the play is a mental exercise. Seeing it is an emotional experience. Though the play does target religion, mostly the Mormon faith, it does hold a divine dimension. Perhaps against its own will.

The struggles the characters are put through are nothing short of heart-wrenching. We see health deterioration, fear, hallucinations, addiction, denial and broken relationships. The cast and crew didn’t hold back; this was a very real encounter with pain.

When I emerged from the theatre, I reminded myself to take a deep breath. Good theatre can be exhausting, and in that moment I was thankful for the sprinkles of humour in the script. And I couldn’t help but wonder: what makes art so approachable?

Coming home late after the three-hour play, I opened up The Writer’s Devotional (a daily routine I demand of myself, no matter how late it is or how tired I am). There under MONDAY, WEEK II was a possible reply to my posed question, “Art helps us to consider what it is to be human.” Thank you, Amy Peters.

Art gives us permission to be human. More than that, it gives us hope in our humanity. All the saints were human. Mary was human. Jesus Himself was human! But He shows us hope through His humanity, for our humanity. One step further, He offers us redemption in His divinity. It reminds us that we are made in a glorious image, even though we feel less worthy because of our imperfections. The beauty of being human is that we need a community of people to thrive and a Saviour to survive. This might seem limiting, but I find it liberating.

I’ve tried my hand at many fields including sports, politics, research, education... but something about art keeps me keep coming back. I believe the arts, in its many facets, shows us what’s real and offers a place to explore a healthy humanity. What could be a better partner for faith than art?