"The Lie that Tells the Truth"

I was recently reminded of this article that I wrote last year for an art exhibit in Calgary.

A lot of it is me exploring my attitudes about art and why it is important.

Here it is:


“Art is the lie that tells the truth.”

-- Pablo Picasso

If you’ve ever spent any time studying art, you probably have come across the famous (infamous?) painting by René Magritte entitled “La trahison des images” (“The Treachery of Images”). It is a picture of a pipe and underneath the image are the words “Ceci n'est pas une pipe”. (“This is not a pipe”)

Of course it isn’t. Any three year old can understand that.

And yet, what we are supposed to think on in that highbrow manner is that the picture is a representation of a pipe. (Although, I’m more curious about why he chose a pipe. I mean, did he paint that pipe first and then decide, “You know, this is NOT a pipe.” Or did he say, “I think I’ll make an artistic statement about art that will echo down the halls of art analysis for decades -- and the best way to do that is a pipe.” But that’s just me.)

The artist himself commented about how his painting of a pipe could not be stuffed with tobacco and such. As realistic as the painting may be, it will NEVER be a pipe, barring some sort of Twilight Zone-esque miracle.

Again, this is obvious, but bear with me.

Instead, in looking at the painting, one is looking at a statement the artist makes about the world. This is where the truth comes in.

In Magritte’s case, he made a statement that said, “This is not a pipe.” And that’s the truth. And the Truth.

Yes. I added a capital “T”. Again, bear with me.

You see, I believe that all art is a lie. Because art cannot represent reality. It can only reflect the artist’s perception of reality.

The artist’s truth.

And in that, the Truth.

I believe in an absolute Truth. How can conflicting statements BOTH be true? How can there be two truths that are in diametric opposition? I do not believe that we all have “our own truth”, rather I believe we all have our own perspective of Truth. I also believe that as long as I am looking through my mortal eyes and processing information with my mortal brain, I cannot hope to fully comprehend the Truth of the universe.

But I can get some glimpses. Where?

Art.

Art. The lie that tells the truth.

In art, we find an artist’s perspective of the world. The artist, when putting pen to paper or brush to canvass or fingertip to keyboard, is about to create a window into their view of the universe. And the artist cannot lie. The artist is completely incapable of lying. Because even in their lie there is a reflection of the truth.

If Magritte had titled his pipe painting “This Really Is a Pipe”, he would have been lying. But he would have been lying with the knowledge that it was not a pipe, and those who understood the lie would get a glimpse of truth.

The artist, in trying to lie, gives a view of the truth.

And a view of the Truth.

The artist cannot help it. That’s just the way of things. Even artists who are actively trying to make statements against Truth, in their own rebellion against Truth, are acknowledging Truth. Revealing Truth.

The Truth is revealed in the lie.

As a writer who believes in absolute Truth, I find myself drawn to other writers who believe in absolute Truth, C.S. Lewis is one.

C.S. Lewis loved the myths of the North. As an avowed atheist Lewis believed that God did not exist. (Then again, his first book -- a book of poetry called Spirits in Bondage -- comes off as a possible example of “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.” He spends much time exploring how God does no exist, but just in case he spends some more time exploring how ugly and evil God is. Oh, and Nature is beautiful and good.) Meanwhile, his good buddy J.R.R. Tolkien, a devout Catholic had been trying to “evangelize” Lewis. (Much to the chagrin of many of Tokien’s fans, the writer of The Lord of the Rings was a VERY religious man who believed in God. And Jesus. And good and evil. And sin.)

One evening, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien were discussing myth. Lewis said, “. . . if I met the idea of a god sacrificing himself. . . I liked it very much and was mysteriously moved by it,” as in the tales of Balder, Adonis, and Bacchus, but of course they were not true. Tolkien, surprisingly, disagreed, saying he believed “myths, like everything else, originated from God, and they preserved, sometimes in a disguised or distorted form, something of God’s truth.”

The Norse myths, like all art, are lies. Obviously. And yet, they tell the truth.

In my own life I sang in a band called The Whispering Loons. The songs I wrote were about the evils and pain of love. They were angry and funny and sarcastic and, generally speaking, untrue. But that was the joke. And in the “lie” of “Buzzards of Love” and “Gold Digger” and “Manipulator” was a truth: that boy had never experienced real love.

The lie revealed the truth.

Incidentally, one of the partners in that band was an artist named David Zimmerman. Dave and I collaborated with each other by proxy. We fed each other creative energy: I, as a writer, drew on his creative energy to fuel my writing, and he, as an artist, drew on my creative energy to fuel his artwork. While we worked, many times on different projects, it was still collaboration as we pushed each other to grow and get better with each new artistic endeavor.

Together, as college students, and then as adult professionals, Dave and I learned about expressing the truth of the world as we saw it and explored finding Truth in our own work and other people’s. Dave’s work began getting less and less realistic and more and more symbolic. And yet, as he strayed away from photo realistic “truth”, his presentation of “Truth” became more potent.

As his artwork became more like a “lie”, it revealed more of the Truth.

“Art is the lie that tells the truth.”

If we truly want to understand the world around us, we must look in many places. In science, we find the mechanics of the universe. In art, we find the Truth behind understanding those mechanics:

Where the mechanics came from . . .

Who set it in motion . . .

And most importantly, what is our place in this celestial machine . . .

And now, if you will bear with me for just a moment longer, I’ve borrowed liberally from masters of art and writing, but I choose to end with something decidedly more lowbrow: “The truth is out there.”

~ Ben

Coolest Vehicle Ever

This thing is just awesome:

http://www.monotracer.ch/

I'm going to save up the $77,000 it costs and then get me a plane ticket to Switzerland so I can attend the training course.

Perhaps I'll just put it on my credit card.

Seriously, though, this thing just rules. It's a luxury car on two wheels. It's Tron come to life. It just plain rocks.

~ Ben

Seasonal Comic -- Easter

Here's a short comic we did from a few years ago. The art is by my friend Darren Brady.

I like the "punchline" more than I should, perhaps . . .

Click here for:

THE SERVANT

I hope this story, which portrays Jesus' nature even as he faced some of the most brutal abuse a human body can take, helps you look at a well known story in a new way.

~ Ben

FREE COMICS from Wowio

Well, there's been some exciting things happening with some of my projects. They have been put online on the book website Wowio.

First, the newest thing:

TIMEPIECE, one of my first projects with Community Comics, is available as a free download from Wowio.com.


Wowio is a free book downloading service that operates much like iTunes, except it's free. Be aware, there are some titles on that website that I do not endorse. However, there are some comics that I DO endorse. Let's take a look at some of them.

First, there's Hero TV.


Hero TV was created to be a free giveaway a few years ago. A couple years, and a couple thousand copies, later, we're finally getting it online. A follow up to this book has been in the works for a little while and is finally nearing completion.

Next up is the project that I was most excited about seeing FINALLY completed. The Thieves.


I've touched on this before, but it was a project that has been a couple of years in the making and I finally was able to get an artist who would do the story justice. I was very pleased with how well this turned out. It's the story of the thieves who were crucified with Christ. This is not available in print anywhere.

Next, there's Tempest.


Tempest is, in many ways, a companion to Timepiece. They both start with the letter "T", they both have two syllables in the title, they both were written by me, and they both were illustrated by multiple artists. While I'm a little embarrassed of Timepiece (it WAS one of my first comics and there are a few plot and dialogue elements I would love a chance to change), I am still proud of it. I feel Tempest, however, is one of my most personal projects to date. Both of them deal with similar themes, and both reflect me at the time they were written. Tempest, however, is the work of a writer who has honed his craft slightly.

Finally, here's Seven Seconds and a Dead Fish.


Yes, the title is odd but the book is wonderful. It's created by Jesse Hamm, a great artist with a unique vision.

So there's a brief glimpse through Wowio. Some are from people I think you should support, some are from myself and Community Comics. You may notice some of my other books on Wowio, and there are a few. If you just want to read them, go ahead. I'm proud of that work also.

~ Ben

"The Girl Can Fly" -- a stick figure graphic novel

I wanted to let everyone know that my first graphic novel is actually available for the public to look at, over at ComicSpace.com.

If you go to my website here, you can see the introduction I wrote for the comic and it links to where you can read it.

"The Girl Can Fly" was the first sustained comic book I ever wrote. It was done for fun, and I gave it to my wife. (She granted me permission to show other people.)

I love this story.

So, yes, it was drawn with stick figures. But it tells a story. I like it. A lot.

The Girl Can Fly can be read here.

~ Ben

EDITED TO ADD: The story will be updated every Sunday to add the next 5-7 page portion. All told, it's 67 pages long.

New Project -- "The Plague Doctor"

Well, I've waited a bit to post a link to this website, but here it goes . . .

A project I'm working on that I'm very excited about is The Plague Doctor. Tim has just about finished inking the first page.

Written by me and drawn by Tim Baron, The Plague Doctor is the story of the last healthy man on earth.

Set after World War I, a destructive disease has quickly devastated humanity. Called the Lotus Plague, its victims have only one desire: to consume. To eat. But they also become lethargic, not wanting to actually do anything. And so, they slowly and painfully die.

The Plague Doctor has taken it upon himself to help them. While he searches for a cure, he also helps ease their pain.

And that's where our story picks up.

We're doing this story for Parable, an anthology book coming from Viper Comics this fall. Although if you want to see the Plague Doctor, you're going to have to wait a bit. Plague Doctor appears in Parable II -- Tim's and my contribution to this current Parable volume is a silent story called "The Little Debtor" -- best described as "what if Charlie Chaplin decided to do a silent movie version of 'The Unforgiving Servant' and set it in a bizarre fairy tale kingdom?"

But, Tim and I have created a blog that showcases the Plague Doctor and has a TON of conceptual sketches, to which I have added some text that expands on the world of the Plague Doctor . . .

The Plague Doctor's Sanctuary.

I'll keep you posted on this. If people like it, we plan to take the 20 page story we're doing for Parable and expand on it into a graphic novel.

~ Ben

Nano Film Review #7 -- New Frontier

New Frontier is the movie that superhero fans are going to be talking about for years to come.

I predict that it will be on the top of many fan's lists of favorite superhero movies of all time.

It may even unseat the original Superman on some people's lists. (Not mine, but some people's.)

New Frontier is the adaptation of Darwin Cooke's comic book New Frontier vol. 1 and New Frontier vol. 2. (There's also the amazing New Frontier Absolute Edition which I can only dream about.) The comic book itself is already illustrated to look like animation storyboards.

I got a look at an advance copy of the movie. And I just have to say, this movie was amazing. There is some graphic violence that caught me off guard at first, although it fit the world it was portraying.

If it weren't for Christopher Reeve, this New Frontier Superman would probably become THE Superman in my mind. This New Frontier Wonder Woman may become THE Wonder Woman in my mind.

New Frontier makes every comic book direct to DVD animated product to this date look bad. Ultimate Avengers I and II and Iron Man have nothing on this. Turok, while a well made movie on its own, is nowhere near as strong as this.

Amazing.

On shelves February 26 in a Single Disk DVD, Two Disk Special Edition, and, winner of the new format war, Blu-Ray.

~ Ben

Nano Film Review #6 -- Turok: Son of Stone

Have you read my review of Dragonlance and don't want to waste your time reading my review of Turok? Just think of all the things I said about Dragonlance and make them the opposite and you get my review of Turok.

To start with, this movie is brutal. It would have received an R rating for sure had it been released in theaters.

This direct to video fantasy animated movie is everything Dragonlance is not. It is exciting, has characters you care about, smooth animation, and a strong story line.

This movie is 2D, but the animation style suits the story.

I do not recommend this movie for younger viewers. I don't recommend this movie for many older viewers, to be honest. It is a violent film about a violent world. It is, however, well made and an interesting counterpoint to Dragonlance.

Now if we could just have something that is in between the two. Something this well made, but with a redeeming storyline . . .

~ Ben

Nano Film Review #5 -- Dragonlance: Dragons of the Autumn Twilight

Wow.

Just. Wow.

I bought this because it is a direct to video fantasy animated product. From a professional standpoint, it makes sense for me to watch.

I couldn't.

It took three false starts for me to watch this.

The movie starts with a five minute history lesson about the world of the story. And it's not exciting history, it's boring history with slow paced, uninteresting visuals.

We then get into the story, which is animated to look like '80's Saturday morning cartoons. Benefit of the doubt time: they may have done this on purpose. Practically speaking time: is there one good reason to do this on purpose?

Then there are the dragons, which are rendered to look like '90's Saturday morning 3D animation cartoons.

Seriously. It looks like they did a mash up with some old 80's fantasy cartoon and some old 90's fantasy cartoon.

When the 80's-style 2D and the 90's-style 3D interact, it is truly difficult to watch.

I cannot imagine what was going on behind the scenes for this to be the product they came out with.

Voice acting was good. Nothing outstanding, but decent. They had a strong pool of voice actors here. The story was a little hard to follow, but that may have been because it was so difficult to watch.

Do not waste your money on this.

~ Ben

PS -- I went a bit long on this because, well, I wanted everyone to know the serious nature of my warning. Do not watch this movie. Not because it's related to Dungeons and Dragons and your Sunday school teacher told you not to. Because it's TERRIBLE. Do not judge a direct to DVD movie by its cover. The animation looks NOTHING like the box art.

PPS -- They misspelled Michael Rosenbaum's name in the end credits!!! Yes, folks, they spellend it with an "N".

The Cure for Writer's Block

I've discovered the cure for writer's block.

It's origami.

You heard it here first.

Monday, I was working on my most recent draft of a possible ArmorQuest feature story. And I hit a snag. A huge snag, right at toward the beginning. It was bad.

Now, one of the activities we're doing in church this month with the kids is an origami project. And I bought some extra paper for myself and I thought I'd give it a try.

I found the folding allowed me to focus my mental energy in a creative way, but in a way that allowed me to continue thinking about the story. This happened three or four times during the day. And each time, I was able to work out and work through the story problems I was facing.

It will be interesting to see if this works again. But I enjoyed it and I may have found a new hobby.

Oh, and I had an idea . . . I found a traditional origami fly! So, I'm running a new little promotion for TimeFlyz. Anyone who orders a copy of TimeFlyz from the Community Comics website will not only get the autographed copy of the book, they will get a free origami fly, folded by me!

You can order TimeFlyz here from Community Comics.

~ Ben