Art

[Intro]
Go into your imagination
Go into your imagination
Go into your imagination

I was at the Museum of Art in New York
I was in this amazing room
You know, it had all these priceless paintings
From the late Renaissance hanging in it
Each painting worth, who knows
A billion dollars, maybe
They're priceless paintings
So, the room was
It's a shrine
And it was full of people from all over the world
Who were looking at these paintings?
You think, well, what the hell are these people doing ?
Coming to this room?
Looking at these paintings
What are they up to?
What are they doing?
They don't know what that means
Likе, why are they looking at that painting?
Why is it in this room?
Why does it cost a billion dollars?
Why is that painting worth so much?
And thе answer to that is
Well, we don't really know
They're sacred objects in some sense
And we gaze at them in ignorance and wonder
And the reason for that is
That the unknown shines through them at us and
In a partially articulated form

[Chorus]
Well, that's the role of art
And that's the role of artists
Well, that's the role of art
And that's the role of artists
So real artists are contending with the unknown, right
And they're possessed by it
They have a personality trait, openness

That makes them do that
They can't even help it
Makes them do that
They can't even help it

The worst thing for creative people
Is to not be creative
'Cause they just die
So, one of the things I would say is
Buy a damn piece of art, you know
Find one that really speaks to you
And look out if you do it
If it's a real piece of art
'Cause you'll also get a little
Introduction to the artist
And then that'll seep into your life
That'll change things like mad
But it's really, it's unbelievably worth it
Because it opens your eyes to
The domain of the transcendent
That's the right way of thinking about it
A real piece of art is a window into the transcendent
That's what it is
In the absence of
The sublime
You can see that integral to our culture is the idea that
Beauty is one pathway towards God
And if you can't find another pathway
Then why don't you use beauty ?
I'm sure most of you do that with music
'Cause music is the one thing
That modern people can't be cynical about
Thank God for that
And so, we need to understand the role of art and literature
And stop thinking about it as an option
It's not an option
It's not an option
What is it said?
Man does not live by bread alone
That's exactly right
We live by beauty
We live by literature
We live by art, and literally
Not metaphorically
We cannot live without it
Because life is too dismal and
Tragic

[Chorus]
Well, that's the role of art
And that's the role of artists
Well, that's the role of art
And that's the role of artists
So real artists are contending with the unknown, right
And they're possessed by it
They have a personality trait, openness
That makes them do that
They can't even help it
It makes them do that
They can't even help it

So, thank you very much
And I hope that you find these programs
That we're developing useful and practical
And that they help you put yourselves together
And lead productive and meaningful
And high-quality lives
With the least amount of tragedy and suffering possible
That would be really good
So, thanks very much
Bye bye