There is no "Insta" in True Art

The moment I walked into the Sistine Chapel, I knew I was about to step into one of the greatest displays of art that the world has seen throughout the course of history. It was beautiful in its vastness and vast in its beauty. The immensity of the impact I felt the second I set my foot through the threshold paralyzed me, as I stood there with my eyes glued to the ceiling, soaking it all into my seemingly tiny and insignificant mind. One look is all it takes for Michelangelo to forever and posthumously draw people into the splendor and majesty of God, qualities he intended to depict and evoke.

Even though the Sistine Chapel has been commercialized, it is impossible to deny the magnificence of what Michelangelo was doing and has done.

What happened to intentional art? Michelangelo once said that “genius is eternal patience.” In this new culture of Instagram and instant messaging, art has been stripped of its forms, its deep deliberations and its genius. Michelangelo didn’t Instagram the Sistine Chapel, Herman Melville didn’t Tumblr about Moby-Dick and Percy Shelley never tweeted about Mont Blanc. Even Rachel Ray didn’t start a career through Pinterest. All the true artists that are famous today became famous because they intentionally made something significant out of nothing; they created a variety of ways to help their generation and future generations to see beauty, truth and beyond. Yet sadly, people seem to have lost the value of working for magnificence, of saying words that actually mean something, of finding true beauty in the long but rewarding process.

In today’s movement toward Insta-pleasure and Insta-satisfaction, is it still possible to slow down? Is it too late now to carve out time for discovering beauty, or to discover beauty through carving out time? If everyone pressed the pause button and took a closer look, would they still think that Insta-pleasure actually leads to pleasure? Or would they begin to realize and relearn how to appreciate the exquisite joy that comes from unhurried leisure and careful consideration? Someday, the world will realize how far from satisfaction they are when they seek Insta-pleasure. Someday, the world will realize how difficult but necessary eternal patience is when they want true magnificence. Someday, the world will remember that all great literature and art evoked deep emotions and meanings through slow and purposeful thought. Someday, the world will remember that the genius of the Sistine Chapel came from a man who understands this “eternal patience” that can never be found in Insta-anything.