The Creative Act and the Spirit
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Bonnie Wilder, The Creative Act and the Spirit, Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1989, bahai-library.com.
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THE CREATIVE CIRCLE
Art, Literature, and Music in Baha'i Perspective

Edited by Michael Fitzgerald

Kalimat Press
Los Angeles
•

First Edition

Copyright © 1989 by Kalimat Press
All Rights Reserved

Manufactured in the United States of America

"Can Baha" Art Become Distinctive?"
Copyright © 1989 by Ludwig Tuman
All rights reserved

"Poetry and Self-Transformation"
Copyright © 1988 by Association for Baba" Studies
All rights reserved
CONTENTS
•• •
Preface by Michael Fitzgerald ....... . ........... .                         V1l1

•
Foreword by Charles Wolcott . ..... , , , , , , , • ••••...                    Xl

Poetry and Sell-Transformation
by Roger White .................. ........ ..... .                              1

T he Creative Act and the Spirit
by Bonnie Wilder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..    17

But . .. My Mother Was a Singer
by Maya Kaathryn Bohnhoff . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .           39

The Dilemma of the Artist: A Perspective
on the Development of Baha'i Aesthetics
by Anne Gordun Atkinson .. . ... .. ........ •••••..                          51

Can Baha'f Art Become Distinctive?
by Ludwig Tuman . . .... . ....... ... .• . ••• . • .. . .                    97

The Artist As Citizen
by Thomas Lysaght . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 121

Restating the Idealist Theory of Art
by Geoffrey Nash . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. 159

v
BO     IE WILDER
author, teacher, and painter.
The Creative Act and the Spirit

by Bonnie Wilder

Introduction. On becoming a Baha'i over thirty years ago, I,
like most other believers, continued the process I had begun
as a seeker-exploring the Baha'i Writings as they applied
to my own life. Until that time, the visual arts had always
been my major focus. From then on they would share double-
billing with the BaM'i Faith. Because I was convinced that
both were vital I was soon to have a new problem-time
management. Nonetheless, soon after my declaration, I be-
gan a two-fold program. I continued my work as a painter,
initiating a career in art education; and I began to discover
and experience the never-ending facets of being a BaM'i.
The following two-part essay is the result of my attempt
to learn more about the connection between art and the
Baha'i Teachings. As I delved into personal memories and
books, I discovered that spiritual insights can emerge from
any unlikely setting, such as an art classroom. I also learned,
as so many others have before, that teachers are often taught
by their students, and sometimes when they least expect it.

Hum Mike to Michelangelo. At about mid-point in my twenty-
year career of teaching art in the public high schools of

18     BOllnie Wilder

Houston, Mike Chisenhall made his appearance. A stocky,
sandyá haired youth with freckles across his nose and a bit of
defensive macho in his walk, Mike was rarely seen without
a grin on his face. I soon learned his goal was to become a
cartoonist. His hero was Michelangelo. He was glad that their
names were almost the same.
Mike could have easily passed through my class unremem-
bered. Over the years, I have had more than four thousand
students. After the first few semesters, they seemed to fall
into a few general categories. Some were talented, but not
serious about developing art abilities. Others took art because
the class they really wanted to take was unavailable. Some
chose art because they thought it would be so easy they
wouldn 't have to work. (An opinion not shared by their
teacher.) A great many students loved the class from the be-
ginning. They came into the room ready to work feverishly
until the bell rang, dampening their elated spirits, causing
them to complain t he time was too short. They were my iná
spiration as an art teacher, my raison d'etre. They are, for the
most part, also the ones I remember best.
Mike Chisenhall was not one of these. Because he loved
cartooning so much, he was less than happy when other
aspects of the art curriculum were covered . He fidgeted and
talked with his neighbors . And despite his perennial happy
grin, he would in due course get on his teacher's nerves. Still,
I liked him. However, it was his response to a particular as-
signment that fixed his image on my memory.
Art education journals are replete with reasons school art
programs are vital to the system. Some of the most quoted
are development of manual dexterity and eye-hand coordinaá
tion, improved self-image, a more balanced outlook on life,
and the acquisition of skills for career and leisure time use.
Another aspect, opportunity for creative selfáexpression, is
also highly praised and is probably the most important of all.
As a seasoned art educator, I accepted all of these as givens
with little conscious thought.
THE STAIRS AT MAZRA'!H
by Bonnie Wilder, completed on her 1985 pilgrimage.
,

20      Bonnie Wilder

It took Mike to bring the last one into particular focus,
causing me to internalize the value that creative self-
expression can hold for high school students. It was also Mike
who, by trusting me enough to express himself honestly,
brought home how closely the creative is related to what we
as Baha'is refer to as spiritual awareness. (l refer to th.e fleet-
ing, euphoric state one sometimes feels during a visit to the
Holy Shrines, in the midst of intense prayer, or when a par-
ticular state of detachment has been reached through
sacrifice, and one's consciousness of self is thereby greatly
lessened. Such moments of insight are often accompanied by
an intense desire to give or share with others because of a felt
outpouring of love.)
The assignment at hand was indeed a special one. This
chosen class of third and fourth year art students appeared
deserving of such an opportunity. Collectively, they were
about to design a group of major graphics which would be
drawn in miniature form and then enlarged and transferred
to the walls of the art room- the entire room, as well as sec-
tions of the hall on each side of the entrance door. Enduring
paint would be used, and the designs were expected to re-
main in place for years. I had never entrusted a class with
such a responsibility before, and they had certainly never had
such an opportunity. After seven years in the same class-
room, I looked forward eagerly to a new environment, im-
aginative and color-charged. It never occurred to me to be
afraid of what they might do.
They took to it like ducks to water. To get started, each
student chose part of the room, such as a display area, a
major wall, a door, or the sink alcove, and worked out a rough
sketch in colored pencil to express an individual idea. With
a minimum of teacher input, all sketches were reviewed and
discussed. Seven designs were selected by student vote. The
originator of each design would serve as group leader for the
others who would assist in carrying out the individual plans.
There was a design representing each of the focal points in
the class environment.
The Creative Act and the Spirit       21

During most of this process, Mike sat at the back of the
room, fitfully working with pencil and paper. Still bending
over the submitted sketches, I realized J had momentarily for-
gotten him. I looked up to ask how he was doing and noticed
his face had taken on an unaccustomed seriousness. He was
fidgeting again, but rather than talking with his neighbors,
his attention was riveted to his work surface. Paper wads
were everywhere, and he continued to push his pencil across
yet another sheet. He gave me several quick glances, as
though gauging my mood. His eyebrows formed question
marks while he tried to muster what could pass for a smile.
He was clearly very uncomfortable.
"You're not going to like this. It's not what you asked for.
It's crazy. Let me try something else." As I approached he
tried to hide what appeared on the last sheet of paper. I was
surprised to see that the result of his considerable effort was
not the cartoon I had expected. It was not even a drawing.
It was a string of words.
More than mere phrases, Mike had composed a paragraph
in which he summed up, in his unique way, the meaning art
had for him. The total effect was so powerful and unexpected
that, for a moment, I could not speak. Immediately, I knew
I wanted to have the entire message on view in a prominent
place, and I told Mike so. Stunned, he couldn't believe his
idea had received such quick acceptance. He answered with
enthusiasm, "Yes, ma'am'" His face glowed with an almost
fierce delight.
Most of the joy Mike felt came from the fact that he had
risked expressing his deepest feelings about art and found a
receptive audience, an experience not unlike a spiritual ex-
change or sharing. He was unaccustomed , I am sure, to dis-
cussing abstract concepts. In fact, I doubt if he had ever
attempted communication of this kind about art before. En-
dowed with a small vocabulary, he was not at all the sort of
student likely to be judged an "intellectual" by most people.
In fact, his I.Q. was probably average. He would have been
far more at home cheering at a football game than sitting in
THE SHRINE OF THE BM3
by Bonnie Wilder, completed on her 1985 pilgrimage.
The Creative Act and the Spirit       23

a library. He had simply put down his own words. althoulZh
somewhat awkwardly. What they lacked in perfection of
style, they compensated for with sincerity, courage, and gut-
level truth. This was a fellow not lacking in male pride whose
desire to express himself had overruled caution on this occa-
sion. Those who have had frequent contact with seventeen-
year-old boys in a peer-group environment can understand
what Mike accomplished.
The transformation of the room required eight weeks. At
the conclusion, a reporter and photographer from a leading
newspaper were on the scene to record the results in the fOlln
of a major feature article.
As we had planned, arrows proved to be an appropriate mo-
tif in many of the designs, because their symbolism easily
suggested the multi-directional nature of creative output. A
major attraction was the fifteen-foot rainbow which began
high and narrow at the left edge of a wall to allow for audio-
visual projection on the white space beneath, looped around
the ever-present school clock, and widened on its downward
approach to the bottom right comer of the same wall. Tur-
quoise clouds and a yellow sun rested on the top edge of the
rainbow near the center. Around the comer, nearby in the
sink alcove, a huge faucet appeared, spouting a stream of
water, ending in large drops above the splashboard of the
counter. This six-foot design repeated the deep, rich pastel
colors used throughout-pink, orange, turquoise, yellow, and
lettuce green. Strong arrows pointed to the sink and the trash
can, carrying the words. HKeep it clean," as a continuing
reminder to future hurrying students. Oversized lettering on
the doors and display areas tied the whole together for a
sophisticated, upbeat, yet unabashedly cheerful atmosphere.
It was usually as the viewer turned back toward the door
to leave that Mike's contribution was noticed. Then it took
center stage. At the beginning of the project, before any of
the graphics were applied to the walls, the entire room had
been painted a fresh milky white. However, since Mike
THE MANSION AT BAI:!)!
by Bonnie Wilder. One of three watercolors she completed on her 1985 pilgrimage.
The Creative Act and the Spirit       25

planned to use white lettering, a two-foot band of deep tur-
quoise was added across his area to provide contrast for his
message, which spanned the fifty-foot length of the room in
several rows of five-inch letters.
Every word had been reproduced along the top edge of the
art room wall inside and above the entrance. Declining the
help of any of the others, Mike had borrowed a ladder from
the custodian's supply room, working relentlessly and alone
to make his idea a part of the final scheme. Although the
work was sometimes difficult and tedious, he never com-
plained. In fact, he frequently borrowed time from other
classes to help push the work to completion. Classmates
called him Michelangelo, comparing his efforts to the Sistine
Chapel ceiling frescoes. He loved it.

SPirit!UJI Glimmerings and Connections. I mentioned earlier
the similarity between the creative act and a heightened
spiritual awareness which Mike had brought to my attention.
I share with many others the belief that these two entities are
part of the same reabn. Otto Donald Rogers, an artist and art
professor, has expressed in an article in Balun Studies maga-
zine the opinion that unity, a fundamental quality of art in its
highest form, is a part of the divine world. When it takes
shape in the material world through an artist's composition,
it attracts, and thereby reflects, a divine message.' Viewed
in this way, the artist becomes a channel of communication
between the source and the recipient. Yet, sometimes (and
I have experienced this myself in my own painting), when the
act of creation is complete, the artist-as though awakened
from a dream-feels he is seeing the results for the first time.
History is rich with examples of artists who credit their
Maker as the source of their inspiration. Mike's hero,
Michelangelo, sent a stream of letters to his father and
brothers with frequent references to such. He wrote in Janu-
ary 1507: "I think I shall be ready to cast my statue ... pray
God that it turns out well."2 In March of the same year, he
MIKE CHISENHALL
expressing his feelings about art through words, rather than
through images.
The Creative Act and the Spirit         27

followed with: " Pray God that my task shall come to a good
end. '" Finally, in October he concluded: "My work will bring
much honor upon me. I owe all of this to the grace of God. ",
Michelangelo, who was less known as a poet than he was
as a painter and sculptor, wrote a poem entitled " The Artist
and His Work" which alludes to his belief both in the immor-
tality of art and the power of the artist to bestow life. I quote
it here in part:

. .. Shapes that seem alive
Wrought in hard mountain marble, will survive
Their maker , whom the years to dust return!
Thus to effect cause yields. Art hath her turn,
And triumphs over Nature . I, who strive
With Sculpture, know this well; her wonders live
In spite of time and death, those tyrants stern.
So I can give long life to both of us
In either way, by color or by stone,
Making the semblance of thy face and mine."

A lesser artist of Michelangelo's time was Leon Battista Al-
berti, another Italian who had similar thoughts. In 1436, he
stated:

Painting is possessed of divine power, for not only, as it is
said of friendship, does it make the absent present, but it
also, after many centuries, makes the dead almost alive,
so that they are recognized with great admiration for the
artist, and with great delight. 6

Vincent Van Gogh, the Dutch expressionist painter whose
tragic life has been made legendary through song, film, and
in countless books, demonstrated his high regard for religion
by attempting to become a minister as a young man. His hu-
manitarian efforts to assist the poor coal miners of Belgium,
where he was sent, caused him to be judged a failure by
28      Bonnie Wilder

church officials. They were of the opinion that he was exces-
sively concerned with the miners' welfare, which caused him
to lose dignity as a minister. Because he had failed at earlier
endeavors, Vincent believed them. Later in life, he brought
up the subject in letters written to his brother, Theo, who
supported him financially when he changed to art . In 1888,
during his most intense and productive period as an artist, he
wrote from ArIes to Theo in Paris:

The subject (I am painting) is frightfully difficult, but that
is just why I want to conquer it _ . . and it does me good to
do difficult things .... That does not prevent my having
a terrible need of-shall I say the word-religion . . . [then]
I go out at night to paint the stars . .. 7

The result was one of his most well-known paintings, Starry
Night.
In another letter during the same period, he wrote:

My dear boy, sometimes I know so well what I want
... but I cannot, ill as I am, do without something which
is greater than T, which is my life-the power to create."

Over the years I've made it a point to include a few days
study of both Michelangelo and Van Gogh. among others, in
my beginning level art classes, hoping to give them a taste
of the heroic which is often an ingredient in an artist's life.
I believe once a student is captivated by this quality. he is
more likely to look beyond the superficial characteristics of
art works new to him, which can sometimes appear awkward
to the unpracticed eye_ Thus he opens himself more readily
to the artist's real message. On at least one occasion, a stu-
dent was brought to tears after exposure to Van Gogh.
The Baha'i writings contain many passages which exalt the
arts to a lofty rank. One of these even indicates where the ar-
tist's "power" referred to in earlier quotes originates:
o people of Baha! The source of crafts, sciences, and arts
is the power of reflection. Make ye every effort that out of
this ideal Mine there may gleam forth such pearls of wis-
dom and utterance as will promote the well-being and har-
mony of all the kindreds of the earth.9

In seeking to define " reflection" the dictionary indicates
loosely that it is a state leading to ideas or conclusions. Of all
creatures on earth, only the human being has the ability to
think to the extent that the process may be called reflection.
Several Baha'i artists have documented their thoughts and
experiences in the making of art, relating them to matters of
the spirit. Some of these, including the American abstract-
expressionist painter, Mark Tobey, and the English potter,
Bernard Leach, have achieved international recognition, each
leaving behind a major body of work.
Mark Tobey, who was largely self-taught, developed his ta-
lent and world view simultaneously through travel and ex-
change of ideas on many continents. He also accomplished
a near miracle by establishing himself as one of this country's
foremost avant-garde painters without ever dwelling at length
in New York, the long-accepted stage for the serious artist's
debut.
Tobey learned of the Baha'i Faith from Juliet Thompson
when they were both young art students attending classes
together. This was at a time when he had begun to search for
other and possibly greater forces in the world than the artistic
impulse. His acceptance of the Faith in 1918 marked the be-
ginning of its influence on his work, which proved to be last-
ing. His unique "white writing" style emerged from his
studies of oriental calligraphy, resulting in an art that blended
East with West both materially on paper and spiritually in
concept. Through usually small, subtle paintings Tobey
speaks to the viewer in a mystical manner, mirroring his
responses to Baha'f historical events and teachings. For ex-
ample, he was known to depict effects of light, perhaps of
THE RAlNBOW WALL
expressed the elation students felt upon the completion of their eight-week mural project .
The Creative Act and the Spirit         31

moonlight or city lights, and would by this imply a parallel
with the spiritual world. Light is known to represent the spirit
in the Baha'i scriptures. 10 The titles of some works are po-
tently revealing in meaning such as "Conflict of the Satanic
and Celestial Egos," relating to man's dual nature; "The Void
Devouring the Gadget Era ," referring to the pervasive
materialism in our society; and what could be considered a
depiction of spirituality itself, "Lovers of Light," a beautiful
painting reminiscent of frost on a windowpane. Tobey's suc-
cess as a painter, in which the Faith played such a great part,
led him to be the first American artist to be given the honor
of a solo exhibition at the Louvre Museum in Paris during his
own lifetime.
Expressing himself in a second creative medium , Tobey
has written poems and essays relating to the spiritual. In
1972, connecting the core of Baha 'i teachings with art, he
stated :

... the future of the world must be this realization of its
oneness, which is the basic teaching as I understand it in
the Baha'i Faith, and from that oneness will naturally de-
velop a new spirit in art, because that's what it is. It's a
spirit and it's not new words and it's not new ideas only.
It's a different spirit. And that spirit of oneness will be
reflected through painting. I I

Tobey's words connecting the spirit of unity proclaimed by
the Faith with painting, can be compared with the following
statement of Baha'u'llah:

The light which these souls radiale is responsible for Ihe ad-
vancement of its peoples. They are like I1lItO leaven which
leaveneth the world of being, and constitute the animating
force through which the arts and wonders of the world are
made manifesl. l '
32      Bonnie Wilder

A resident of Switzerland at the time, Tobey attended the
National Baha'i Convention of that country held in Bern in
1962. As a pioneer to Switzerland during the Ten-Year World
Crusade, I was also in attendance and had an opportunity to
meet him. I remember thinking he looked something like the
Uncle Sam Wants You posters of the Second World War ,
although not as formidable . The Swiss believers stood some-
what in awe of him. They described him as something of a
recluse. I decided to speak to rum anyway. Thinking he prob-
ably didn't wish attention drawn to himself, [was very brief.
I told him I also had a deep involvement with art. He looked
with interest at the small photographs of my work which I
carried in my billfold, offering polite encouragement in a tone
that was kind but not condescending. I was with Tobey no
more than five minutes and still remember this encounter as
one of the many unexpected rewards of pioneering.
The British potter, Bernard Leach, is even more well-
known as a potter than Tobey is as painter. Both traveled
extensively, and went together to the Orient on at least one
occasion. Both incorporated elements of oriental design into
their works, and both were profoundly affected by Baha'i
teachings. Leach spent eleven years in the East, traveling to
Japan, Korea, and China in particular. He saw himself as a
"courier between East and West," although he also visited
many other parts of the world during his lifetime. One of his
major accomplishments was the establishment of the St. rYeS
pottery works in Cornwall, England .
Leach saw his art, which began at the age of six, as only
one of his "vocations." The other, initiated at about age
seventeen, was his search for truth stimulated by the read-
ing of William Blake's poetry. Through experiences he called
"stepping stones of belief," he used two approaches to the
gaining of knowledge: intellect and intuition. Of these he said:

The genuine artist requires and uses both all the time, and
finds that to place intellect above intuition is simply to mis-
The Creative Act and the Spirit      33

guide his footsteps: count your footsteps and you may fall
down the stairs .... Intellect is a very good servant but a
very bad maste.r 13

Leach justified his remarks by referring to a statement of
'Abdu'l-Baha which connects the word of God with the power
to awaken intuition within us. He did not give the written
source.
Baha'is know of Juliet Thompson as the artist who, in 1912,
painted a portrait of 'Abdu'l-Baha in New York. Many don't
realize, however, that she was a painter of some renown who
had studied art extensively in New York and Paris, exhibit-
ed frequently, and had been received at the White House to
paint the First Lady, Mrs. Calvin Coolidge. Juliet was very
pretty and enjoyed an active social life, although she never
married. Besides being skilled at art, she was an able writer
who delighted 'Abdu'l-Baha with her ability to express her-
self honestly.
Juliet had a close relationship with 'Abdu'l-Baha , and he
openly admitted that she was one of his favorites among
those who attained his presence while he was in New York .
We get a glimmering of the spiritual nature of this closeness
as we read her diary. Juliet, in describing the sessions of
painting 'Abdu'l-BaM, alluded to the power which seemed
to take over her senses at those times:

Oh, those sittings: so wonderful, yet so humanly difficult!
We move from room to room, from one kind of light to
another. The Master has given me three half hours, each
time in a different room, and each time people come in and
watch me. But the miraculous thing is that nothing makes
any difference. The minute I begin to work the same rap-
ture takes possession of me. Someone Else looks through
my eyes and sees clearly; Someone Else works through my
hand with a sort of furious precision."
34      Bonnie Wilder

Marzieh Gail, writing the preface to the diary, stated that
'Abdu'l-Baha greatly encouraged Juliet's overall involvement
in art, telling her it was the same as worship, but toward the
end she no longer wanted to go on with it ... and all she
wanted to do was teach the Faith. 1S

Conclusion. On these pages we have touched on diverse time
periods and artistic viewpoints, both Baha', and non-Baha'i,
in an attempt to discover the connection between the creative
act and the spirit. Such an objective probably can never be
achieved in an absolute sense, but we have gathered a har-
vest of hints. Michelangelo spoke of the "grace of God " and
the " immortality of art, " certainly spiritual tel illS . Alberti
supported this by referring to painting as a "divine power."
Van Gogh described his crying need for religion, which he
seemed able to satisfy by the act of painting. Mark T obey
gave us a "spirit of oneness," while Bernard Leach offered
"intuition awakened by God." Juliet Thompson described a
"rapture taking possession," borrowing her eyes and hands.
Time itself will bring us more complete answers. Shoghi
Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha', Faith, had this to say
when questioned by an individual believer concerning future
Baha 'i artists:

We have to wait only a few years to see how the spirit
breathed by Baha'u'lliih will find expression in the work
of the artists. What . .. you and other Baha',s are attempt-
ing are only faint rays that precede the effulgent light of
a glorious mom. We cannot yet value the part the Cause
is destined to play in the life of society. We will have to give
it time. The material this spirit has to mold is too crude and
unworthy, but it will at last give way and the cause of Ba-
h,fu'llah will reveal itself in its full splendour. 16

The end of this essay brings us back to where we started ,
for I have not yet shared with you the message Mike Chisen-
hall wrote with such fervor long ago in my art class. (Forgive
-- The Creative Act and the Spirit (Used by permission of the curator)